Seattle
by fizii
Summary: What happens when Suze and her family have to move to Seattle, land of the evil Paul slater? Will Suze fall for him and what happens when Suze meets a nasty gang OC ghosties? Will she get Pauls help or suffer in silence? Please read and review! ADOPTED FROM LOULABEL246 WHO HAS LEFT US. *sob*
1. The Nightmare!

**A/N: Ok, so this story (and this chapter) originally belonged to Loulabel246. A couple of months ago however I received a message from her on my story _Canada _saying,**

**"Fixit it's me ! Loulou! I'm sorry I've been gon I kinda ummm... Got banned from the website :( mum thought I was addicted to it :'( anyway I'm at my mates I gotta be quick ! Story was amazing even better than I expected it to be ! I can't continue with my story sadly and can't log into my name so if u want u can rob the idea if not it can just sit there unfinished 'snife' well done ! Byeeeeeeeeee !"**

**So, I naturally thought that I had to finish the complete and utter genious she had created and so here I am. Bravely soldiering on.**

**This story was originally dedicated to me, however I wish to dedicate the re-make as it were to Loulabel246, in the hope that one day she may return to us or may even see what I have done to her story _Seattle._**

**DISCLAIMED TO MEG CABOT AND LOULABEL246.**

**I'll let y'all know when I start my work as she had done a fair few chapters.**

**Anyway, here it is, _Seattle!_**

**Loulabel246: This is for you kiddo! We all miss you!**

**-Fizii**

The nightmare!

"_Hello, Suzie... how've you been?" I stared up into the icy blue irises of Paul Slater_.

Since leaving me and Jack up in the shadow land, all alone, he had been haunting my dreams every night; trapping me, taunting me, leaving me to die, in this stupid afterlife! Just knowing that someone on earth could be so careless, so heartless as to leave their little brother and some innocent mediator-sorry shifter, as Paul said I am- to become one of the souls we work so hard to help, gives me the chills! Is there any justice in the world...?

At first, the dreams would go something like this:

_I'm in the shadow land, all alone,_

_A void of pure white light opens in the starry, night sky_,

_Jesse comes tumbling out,_

_He sees me trembling and comes over assuring me it'll be okay,_

_His liquid brown eyes gaze lovingly into mine as do my emerald greens, into his,_

_A black flash of lightning illuminates the sky, turning Jesse's irises a freaky, midnight black,_

_He's ripped from his spot in front of me, into a gaping black hole up above,_

_And so I collapse on the floor, a sobbing lump in the horrid, hallway of doom,_

Before waking up in my bed...

Well, on the floor, next to it, but that's irrelevant.

Unfortunately, the more time I spent thinking about it the worse the dreams got...

So my dreams went from _that _to _this;_

"_P-P-Paul!" I stuttered. For some unknown reason my mind lost all capability of forming coherent thoughts when I'm around Paul Slater. I wonder whyyyyyy..._

_He grinned, but in a totally evil way, before saying, sarcastically" Wow! Now who's a clever Suzie?" It should be illegal to look that good, yet be so, damn evil!_

""_What do you w-want?" I squealed. Not literally, 'cause that'd be stupid, but you know. My voice went all squeaky._

"_Oh, the same as usual.-'he smiled in mock sweetness as he spoke his next words'- world peace, to help others... you to be mine... De Silva to go to the fiery pits of hell..."_

"_Shut up!" I shrieked. "Just don't, Paul!"_

"_No, Suze!" he shouted back, sounding very, very mad. "You know I'm right, you just don't want to admit it! You know, good and well as I do that you WILL be mine and De Silva will burn in hell for-"_

_I broke him off by screaming "Stop it!" and tearing down the corridor. Oh shut up, it was soooooo a fight or flight moment. And I find that when faced with that option, if the opponent is a 16 year old guy, who happens to be VERY muscular, it is perfectly okay to leg it. I mean, it's not like I was running because I was scared or anything. I was being... smart. Yeah, smart Suze..._

_My fingers were in my ears, but they couldn't drown out Paul's words._

"_Come on, Suze. Stop running; you know you won't get anywhere. This hallways never-ending, remember? Hey, I can think of something else-or someone, should I say-that will stop you getting anywhere..." I could practically feel his self-assurance, drenching the chilly air. He was so full of himself! _

_I chose to ignore his Jesse comment, deciding giving him an answer would be too nice... even if that answer was just 'shut the hell up, you idiot!'_

_He carried on saying" I hate to sound like a cheesy horror movie or something, but really Suze. Just stop, already. You can't run and you can't hide, so just give in! Hey, kind of like that song from the Scooby doo movie, bump in the night! You cannot run, and you cannot hide, so you better face it baby, things go bump in the night!"_

_I carried on sprinting, and heard a weird noise. It sounded like a sigh mixed with a moan..._

_I was contemplating stopping, as had Paul's insufferable voice but just as I was about to, smacked my head on an incredibly hard wall. It hurt like hell! I fell back, landing on my butt, and held my head. Then I realized..._

_THERE'S NO WALLS IN THE SHADOW LAND!_

_I squeaked, looking up to a-once-again-smirking Paul._

"_I have a pretty hard chest, don't I Suze? Almost like a... wall."_

_I couldn't speak. I couldn't think. All I could do was stare at him in... Well I was staring at him for a lot of reasons, but let's just say it was because I hit my head a little too hard._

"_You alright down there, Suze? You look like you're trying to catch flies... But you know, you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar." I only then realized I had been gaping up at him, when he repeated what Maria had said to me._

_He moved towards me, slowly, but deliberately. He then walked behind me and my back seized up. I gasped involuntarily, preparing myself for something to happen. I waited roughly a minute before turning around to look._

_I couldn't help it!_

_The suspense was killing me!_

_But anyway, when I rotated to peer behind me, nobody was there. How suspicious..._

_I quickly swivelled around again, however, expecting him to surprise me by moving back round to there and for him to hold me at gun point, or something equally bad. Much to my shock-and happiness-he was not there! Hurray! _

_Damn! Ah well, to feel happiness for just an instance is better than to never feel it at all! _

_I had just been getting ready to celebrate, when I felt slight pressure on my waist. Oh, man!_

_Paul had materialized behind me. He was sat behind me-well, up against my back really, but whatever-with his long legs intertwining with mine. I shuddered at the warmth he was providing me with, up in this creepy place. He felt so good and warm compared to my frozen body, but I knew it was wrong... so why did I like it so much...?_

"_Paul, what the hell do you think you doing?" I meant to say it with a powerful, commanding voice, but it-like usual when I'm near Paul- decided to go all squeaky and scared on me. I wasn't scared! _

_Susannah Simon is immune to fear!_

_Stop laughing!_

_I attempted trying to slide away but his hands snaked around my waist, rendering me immobile and dragging me back. Crud! Gathering all the courage I could muster, I demanded" Let me go, Paul! And what do you want, anyway?" my voice shook a little on the last note, but otherwise stayed strong._

"_Hahaha. Sorry Suze, but I'm growing quite fond of the seating arrangements and I told you earlier."_

"_Told me what?" I moaned in confusion._

_He sighed and replied "I've already told you what I want." Oh. Realization dawned on me and I immediately regretted bringing up the topic. _

_I gulped, feeling uneasy. Paul's breath was like minty fire against my neck and he rested his chin on my right shoulder. Before, his hands had been trailing up and down my spine, but he-for some unknown reason- had decided it would be better to tickle me! I kid you not! We were just sat there, in silence, when all of a sudden he started tickling me! Now, just between me and you, I am a little ticklish, but I was determined not to show how good and funny it felt. I bit my tongue to stop myself letting out any noise, but failed and emitted a large moan. He obviously heard it, as he laughed and decided to change position again. He crossed his legs, pulled me onto his lap and knotted our arms together. I didn't have the energy to fight him off, due to all the running earlier and, quite frankly, Paul was cosy and warm and my skin was freezing. So yeah, staying was simply my survival instinct._

"_Susannah!" a pained voice cried._

_JESSE!_

"_Paul, let me go you jerk, or I swear I will banish you butt to some parallel hell!" I was panicking by then; worried Jesse would get the wrong idea. I had no clue where he was as his voice had come from all around so I added "I'm coming, Jesse! Get off Paul, I mean it! I will banish you!" I also had no clue if this was even possible, but I was willing to wager it is. _

"_No you won't, Suze. You don't know how. I however-' he yanked my head around, so I had to face him. From my new position, I could see he was smirking, smugly '-do!" As he was saying that, Jesse materialized right in front of us._

_I screamed his name, and Paul recoiled slightly at the pitch and volume of my voice, which had been right next to his ear. I then drank in Jesse's appearance, checking to see if he was hurt..._

_He had a large crimson gash, leaking blood above his right eye. An ugly purple bruise was forming on his left cheek and his shirt was soaked..._

_In his blood!_

"_Jesse!" I shrieked, close to tears. But I couldn't cry in front of Paul. I just couldn't. So instead, I settled for screaming. Yes, you read right. I decided to scream bloody murder._

_I heard Paul sigh-well felt it actually-and stopped for a second catching my breath._

"_God, Suze...-'he laughed a little as he spoke, which I didn't understand at first'-you have the most amazing scream I have ever heard! I mean, come on, there's nothing like a good scream. But anyway, we have a guest, you know. It would be rather rude to make them stand there..." As he spoke, his attention wavered from me to Jesse a few times, before settling on Jesse. I didn't know what was going to happen and the anticipation was killing me, as it had earlier on when Paul had temporarily vanished._

_He tightened his grip on my arms, restricting me from moving anything but my head._

"_Get off of mi querida, Slater! She has done you no harm. This is between me and you!" For the first time in ages, Jesse spoke. I didn't understand what he meant, but I was glad to hear his voice, even if it was a little croaky. _

"_Ha ha. I always thought you would be too __gentlemanly __to claim her! Oh well. Suze can finally see that you aren't all she thought you were."_

_Claim me? What the hell was he on about? Jesse didn't claim me. Did he?_

_Ahhhhhhhhhh! I don't know!_

"_What's between you two? Jesse I can help!" I shouted._

"_No, Susannah. You might get hurt!" Jesse replied firmly._

"_Awwwww, yeah Jesse'. Suze wants to play! I think we should let her join in."_

"_No Susannah. You absolutely cannot!"_

"_Ha-ha! He's worried you'll end up spending too much time around me and realize that I am your true love! The one which Madame Zara told you would last all eternity! Oh, and who is he to tell you what you can and cannot do?" He finished, pretending to be outraged._

_I knew he was just trying to wind me up, but it was true. Jesse shouldn't have been telling me what I can and can't do. I know he was just worried, but it's my choice, right?_

_Or am I just over-reacting?_

_Ah! It's so confusing!_

_And how did he know about Madame Zara?_

_I must have spaced out just then, because the next thing I knew, Jesse was lying on the floor, twisting, writhing and screaming in pain!_

_I tried to scream, but Paul had clamped his hand over my mouth! Paul is such a..._

_NOOB!_

_I hadn't realized, but tears were pooling my eyes, threatening to spill. I tried moving my head, but when he moved his hand to my mouth, it stopped me from moving my head at all._

_In an attempt to make him move, I bit him, but because of the angle his hand was at, I ended up licking him!_

_It made him chuckle silently, but otherwise he stayed focused on Jesse. Suddenly, a loud roar of pain came from Jesse. Paul was using telekinesis to lift him way up, before slamming him back down on the cold, hard floor as hard as he could._

_I struggled, but all it did was cause me to end up closer to Paul. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I couldn't scream. I couldn't even think, clearly._

"_THIS __is for all the pain you're going to cause her!__ THIS __is for all the pain you're making me cause her! __THIS __is for all the pain you already have caused her! __THIS __is for toying with an innocent girl's heart! __AND THIS __is for all the pain you've caused __ME __to feel, because of the pain you caused __SUZE to feel!" __On every __this,__ he was thrown down and when he said the last sentence Jesse's shirt got a colossal cut down the front, which went through his skin, a couple of inches thick!_

_Jesse was lying on the floor, moaning and twisting in pain. To anyone else, it would look like he was complaining about his physical pain, but my shifters intuition told me it was mental pain, too. I desperately wanted to jump up and help him, or smack Paul around the face! _

_I couldn't quite decide..._

_The silent tears were free falling now, drenching Pauls shirt. Oh well, he deserved it! _

_They were both panting, hard, and kept looking from me back to each other._

_Pauls grip seemed to slacken and I jumped off his lap. He didn't say anything as I moved, but when I got close to Jesse, a barrier seemed to form around him, preventing me from getting within a metre of him. _

_Paul laughed, darkly, as I fell back. I think I forgot to mention, but that barrier?_

_Yeah, it burnt! Like, make your hand go bright red, forcing you to recoil in pain!_

_I then fell to the floor, unable to move. Again, my shifter intuition told me something was up. I looked at Paul, and he seemed to have a gigantic, neon sign on his head that said 'Yay me! I've stopped Suze from moving, using my fancy pants shifter skills! Hurray!'_

"_Paul." I growled. Thankfully, I could still move my mouth and eyes. "Let. Me. Go!"_

"_Sorry Suze, but unlike you, I don't make empty threats..." He turned away to face Jesse and realization hit me like a ton of bricks..._

"_Paul, let me go, or I swear, I will banish you to some parallel hell!" __I had told him._

_I knew he wouldn't do that me, as he supposedly thought he 'loved' me. But there was nothing to stop him doing that to Jesse..._

"_Paul! Don't!" As I said it, a gaping black hole was opening up in the sky. Through the hole, tortured screams and demented howls of pain, filtered through, filling the foggy air in the form of inky-black smoke. _

_He wanted to send Jesse there?_

"_Paul! Please, don't! Let him go! Jesse!" I was hysterical! No, I was past hysterical, I was..._

_Insane!_

_Black tendrils of smoke encased Jesse, as Heathers had done, except these were far more sinister._

"_I'm sorry Suze, no can do. He doesn't belong on earth, with you. I do..." And with that, Jesse was roughly jerked into the hole, leaving with one final scream of intense pain._

_And then he was gone._

_Paul no longer found it necessary to stop me moving, as I couldn't do that anyway. My sobs were hurting my chest so much, I couldn't even be bothered._

_All I could think was;_

_He's gone, he's gone, he's gone, he's gone, he's gone..._

_Paul cautiously tiptoed over to me lifted my head and softly kissed me. It wasn't a loving kiss-although he probably thought it was-and then left._

I woke up, a blonde head looming over me.

**Please review? Just to keep me on my toes and drive me on?**


	2. The news

**A/N: Ok, chapter two, this is still the lovely Loulabel246's creation. She wrote, like, TWELVE chapters! Yeah. exactly. TWELVE! So, I know people are reading this from the story stats so I'll continue updating although the occasional review would be nice just to egg me along a bit... ;)**

**DISLAIMED.**

**-Fizii**

The news

"Ahhhhhhhhhh! Paul! Get out of my room!" I shrieked, whacking him round the head with my pillow.

The head let out a grunt of pain, before speaking sleepily "God, Suze! Calm down! I just-"

"Jake!" I yelped. Suddenly, I felt very self-conscious. I don't mean I like, cared what he thought about me or anything, it's just...

I WAS WEARING A SILK NIGHTDRESS, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

"Uh... Jake? What are doing in my room? I thought you were a murdering psychopath or something!" I stuttered, much like I did around Paul, except for a completely different reason.

"Suze." He said bluntly. "You were screaming your freaking head off!_ I _thought a psychopathic murderer was torturing _you _or something! Oh, and who the heck is Paul?"

_Damn!_

I knew he was going to ask that! I quickly thought up a lie and ended up babbling something like this:

"He's this... uh... BOOK CHARACTER! Yeah, you know, he's the villain. Big sharp claws, hypnotic blue eyes, tennis tan- uh, I mean scales and-"

He broke me off by yelling "You said Slater... Paul Slater! Hang on, isn't that the guy you went out with? Jacks brother?"

"We did not `go out`!" I said indignantly.

"Fine, fine, calm down! Hey... isn't that the guy who tried to _blackmail_ into going out with him? He said he would tell Caitlin you'd taken his brother to the beach, didn't he!"

I looked around the room unable to meet his gaze.

He sighed before adding in softer tone "Am I right? Please answer. I'm just-`he gulped`-really, really worried." He gently pulled my chin up, so I'd look him in the eye.

"Jake, I-"I was touched! I seriously was! I had been pretty rude to Jake and Brad since I arrived, yet he was still concerned! I went to voice my thanks, but he-again-interrupted.

"So, were you having a dream about him-well nightmare really, from the sound of things-or what?"

I tore my head away and nodded awkwardly.

"Thought so..."He murmured

Again, I attempted to voice my thanks, but couldn't. This time, though, it was due to the massive lump which had formed in my throat.

He chuckled, but his look darkened again, when he next spoke.

"Suze." He spoke slowly and lowly. Menacingly... "What. Did. He. Do?"

I squealed-I'm embarrassed to admit-at his threatening tone

"God dammit, Suze! What did he do?"

He must've noticed me flinch, as his mad look and tone calmed down when he next spoke.

"I'm sorry Suze. It's just... you're such a tough girl, and it confuses me to see you like this. And so if it's enough to scare you, it's got to be bad!"

"I'm not scared! I just... hate him!"

He snorted...

So I smacked him on the head again, with the pillow.

"Sorry. It's just that, I always knew you hated showing weakness-that's why you feel the need to punch Brad all the time... then again, I think even Father Dominic has been close to giving him a whack around the ear-hole, before-but I didn't know you hated it _that _much!" He said with a chuckle.

He looked at me expectantly, before saying "well?"

I knew a look of confusion was plastered on my face.

He sighed, pretending he was annoyed "Are you going to apologise or not?"

"Uh-` I pretended to be thinking about it and concluded'-nope!"

Jake feigned being shocked and exclaimed "But why ever not? Surely you would not be into such shameful wench behaviour!"

"No. I just don't like you." He smiled and laughed again when I said that and we sat in silence for a few minutes.

Finally sobered up, he once again questioned "Suze, what did he do? No editing, or lying, solid hard truth."

I tried to think up a reply, but fell short "Well... I can't really explain..."

I literally _felt_ his growl reverberate through the bed. I gulped.

He urgently pulled my head back around to face him and growled "Suze, did he like, hit you or something-'I pulled my eyes away from his gaze, instead focusing on the pillow which had fallen to the floor when we were messing around'- 'cause if he hurt my little sis', I'll kill him." He spoke the threat lightly, but made it clear he was unhappy at the same time.

I was trying to think of a reply, but he took my utter silence as confirmation.

"I'm going to freaking' murder him! He can't do that!" Jake was fuming!

I could just picture him, with steam coming out his ears and him foaming at the mouth or something.

I was about to deny it, but then I thought:

_Hey, if Jake thinks he done that, then he won't question me anymore!_

Calming down a little, he looked me up and down. As he did so, he sighed, shaking his head slightly, as he couldn't believe he got such a weirdo as a step-sister. As his gaze met mine, his anger melted into loving, family concern.

"I'm sorry about blowing up at you like that. I'm just mad. Not at you or anything-`he quickly assured me`-at _him!_ He was a real jerk! But don't worry. He's gone now. And are you sure you're okay?" He sounded worried.

He slowly climbed off the bed as I spoke "Yeah, I'm great thanks. I mean, you're right, he's left now. What harm can he do from Seattle, anyways? And I really mean it by the way. Thank you, Jake." I sat up a little, pulling up the quilt. He stood next to my bed, smiling warmly for a moment, and then he leaned over and got me in a vice-like hug!

For a moment, I was shocked-still, but I quickly threw my arms around his neck, and hugged him back. It wasn't like a boyfriend/girlfriend hug. No, it was more of a caring family hug.

We both pulled away and I whispered "Goodnight Jake. And thank you, again."

"Your very much welcome, Suze. See you tomorrow." He glanced at my alarm clock and chuckled. ". In a few hours I mean."

And with that, he went back to his own room.

In the morning, Andy came in to wake me up...

Or so I was told.

Apparently, I was so tired this morning, that they couldn't even wake me. Mum and Dad were worried I was in a coma or something! Thankfully, they knew I couldn't be in a coma, as when mum shook my head in an attempt to wake me, I was told I complained about never being left alone in this house.

Hmmmm, I wonder how anyone could think that...

Please note the sarcasm.

I finally awoke at around 11. As I walked downstairs, I heard quiet talking coming from the lounge.

Max hot on my trail, I wandered into the lounge. When I got there, the talking stopped.

"Uh... morning, guys." I said to dopey and doc, as I took a seat on the arm of the sofa next to Doc.

Doc immediately cheered up. "Hey, Suze. You want some toast? I was about to go get some myself anyway."

Dopey looked at me, at the door way, at Doc, then back at me. "Morning Suze. How you doing now? Mum and Dad said you wouldn't wake up this morning."

I was shocked at the fact me and Brad were actually having a `conversation`, without using our fists.

"Uh... I'm pretty good thanks. I'd been working really, really hard on my punch bag. I thought I could use some intense training last night, so today I was really tired. And yeah, I'd love some toast thanks, David." I called out to him, as he had shifted-the human way, not the actual shifters way-to the kitchen.

"So..." I said to Brad, awkwardly. "How's you doing', this fine morning'?"

"Good thanks. The alb- I mean, your friends called. Webb and Mctavish. They said `wear black and purple`, for some reason. They said you'd know what they meant."

I gasped. I had _completely_ forgotten!

One month ago, exactly, my two best buddies in California got together. And today, they were celebrating their one month anniversary. Whoop de do!

I had been invited to dinner with them and after that, the beach.

"Oh, I forgot." Brad added. "They said they'd be here at one."

I gasped again, looking at the clock.

_11:20_

_Damn!_

"Thanks Brad. I need to go and get ready! We're going out for lunch."

"Okay. Hey, would you mind getting Jake up? You shouldn't find any dirty underwear on the floor or anything. He's a lot cleaner than me and David." He joked.

"Uh... sure."

I knocked on his door; no reply.

I was avoiding going in his room if he hadn't granted me permission to enter, but I had to.

I braced myself for a sweaty smelling room, with dirty laundry, heavy metal posters and magazines strewn across the floor.

Therefore, I got a huge surprise when I stepped in;

Jakes walls were a sophisticated turquoise colour, much like the ocean when it's really sunny out, you could see most of his cream coloured carpet, which was not covered in clothes and magazines, and the walls were not plastered in pictures and posters like Brads were, although they did have a few surfing posters and one of Bob Marley, saying _don't worry, be happy. _His magazines were stacked in a neat little pile in the corner and were all of the surfing variety. Not the type of poster I had imagined...

My eyes finally landed on the bed, in which he was sleeping.

His mouth was hanging open slightly, and his arm was casually dangling down the side of his bed. His eyes were definitely closed, and all he was wearing were his boxers. I knew this, because he had somehow wrapped his feet in the covers. His face was the picture of innocence.

I cautiously tiptoed over to him.

"Uh... Jake? Ja-ake? Wakey, wakey."

He rolled over to face me and murmured something like "damn, where's my surf board?"

I smiled and tapped his shoulder.

"Jake. Wake up, man, I've got to go!" I said a little louder.

He then suddenly sprang up exclaiming "Suze! What are you in my room for?"

Instead of answering him, I strolled over to the window to open the curtain. A beam of light shone through the window and got him right I the face.

"Ouch! Okay, okay. Close the curtain, my eyes!" He pulled his quilt over his head to block it out.

I laughed at him, in a friendly way. "Morning Jake. How you feeling? You were awake for quite a while last night." I asked.

"I'm good, thanks. You?"

"I'm just peachy." I replied grinning. I don't know what was funny. I guess I just felt... well, happy.

About what, I've not got a clue.

Jake being so nice?

Brad actually making an effort to talk to me?

And nicely at that!

Whatever...

"Well, nice chatting' with you Jakey, but I've got to go get ready."

"Okay then." He replied, clambering out of bed.

I walked out of his door and back to my room.

Half past 6, that night, the Ackerman's and I were all sat around the dinner table. "Has anyone told Suze and Jake yet?"

"Told us what?" I and Jake asked in unison and confusion.

"Nope. We thought you had better, dad. Just in case..."

Jake and I looked at each other, baffled as to what was going on.

"Suzie, Jake... We're moving to Seattle."


	3. Goodbye

**A/N: Chapter 3 for y'all! I'm trying to do a quick beta-read of all the chapters I'm uploading which is why it's taking me longer than it probably should! **

**Thank you to all those who PM'ed me or reviewed! It lets me know that some people are interested in the ending of the story! **

**Right, one last thing, I'm thinking about starting a 'Mediator Monthly Challenge' forum... Basically it would be like the one they used to have on here before the people who ran it left Fanfiction; you get a title and a word limit and then people submit their entries, I thought it sounded fun at any rate so could anybody interested please review/PM/let me know in whichever way you fancy (homing pidgeons, for example).**

**Taa!**

**-Fizii**

Goodbye

Jake and I simply stared at mom, shocked.

I laughed nervously. Jake peered at me, worry etched in his face.

"What?" I demanded rudely.

Come on, you can't seriously blame me, right?

"I said, we're moving to Seattle." She repeated nervously.

There were a lot of things I could have done then;

Jump up and hug my mom, reassuring her it'd be okay and that we'd hopefully be as happy there, as we had been in Carmel.

I could have stared at her, disbelievingly.

Maybe I could have sat there, demanding them to tell me they were joking, while crying my eyes out.

Or perhaps I could have played the part of the angry, short-tempered teen and spazzed out at them all, punching them all in the, screaming and shouting as I did.

But no.

Do you know what I did?

I sprinted up the stairs, screaming my head off, with tears of fury, worry, mental pain and fear-yes, I Susannah Simon screamed bloody murder, because I was moving house- whilst shrieking over and over again "NO FREAKING WAY AM I GOING! I HATE YOU! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"

And on that happy note, I skipped merrily to my room, to have a tea party with all my fairy friends, in a pretty pink gown, speaking proper English.

Pfft!

Nah, what I really did was storm into my room, yank on my Lonsdale, fingerless boxing gloves and punch the hell outta my bedroom wall.

I made it people's faces, hitting harder on different people.

_Brad... bam!_

_Kelly Prescott... whack!_

_Debbie Mancuso... bam!_

_Paul... __**WHACK, POW, SLAM, BAM, SMASH!**_

I carried on like that for a little while, tears of fury rolling down my cheeks.

Each punch represented something that particular person had done to me.

It continued a little while longer, until the wall became my mother's face.

I instantly felt bad, and pulled the gloves off, groaning and flopping onto the bed.

I hated crying, and therefore decided to try and stem the flow of tears, by flopping over, burying my head in the pillow.

Meh.

With a little good luck, I'd suffocate and die...

HA! LUCK!

When have I ever had any luck? Well, good luck, anyway.

Let, me, see...

I got Gina as a best mate.

I got Jesse as a room-mate.

When I had to move to Carmel, I met Cee and Adam

I met father Dom, a fellow mediator aaaaaand...

That's it.

Bad luck. Ha!

Well...

I was given the tiring job of being a mediator

I was given a forbidden love, in the form of our ghostly Latino friend, Mr De Silva

A chirpy, cheerleader's ghost tried to demolish me with a bronze holy head

My first proper boyfriend's uncle tried to force me into a _hideous _red swim suit, so that he could make my murder-which he wanted to commit- look like an accident

Said boyfriend's psychotic dad went all Transylvanian on me, and tried to suck my blood

Four killer teenage ghosts in prom wear tried to drown me

An evil nerd who had a crush on me attempted to murder Dopey, Doc, Sleepy, Gina and me, although the last person in that list apparently wasn't supposed to be in the car at that time

The 2 prom wear clad ghoulie-girls beat the hell out of me, using physical power _and_ psychic power

My ghostie boy crush's (Jesse) fiancée, came to me in the middle of the night and got me at knife-point

She then called her evil hubby (Diego) to come and push me off the roof

Paul-the stupid idiot-then got me to go on a date with him, and in that time, Maria, Diego and Jack Slater, exorcised Jesse

Consequently, I had to temporarily kill myself to get Jesse back, but whilst there, I lost the way back and got lost

Paul then found me, but refused to tell me how to get out...!

AND THAT'S JUST ONE YEAR!

But anyway, yeah, I've definitely had more bad luck than good!

AND, I haven't even told you the two worst reasons yet!

1. Ghosts can't travel long distances for too long very often, which means NO JESSE FOR SUZE! That's why my dad doesn't visit very often. Apparently, the ghost is only like, an imprint of the particles from them or something, so it's painful to move to far away from the place or their deaths.

2. Simple really. Seattle is home to the SPAWN OF SATAN!

Ahhhhhhhhhh!

There was a knock at my door, so I groaned and yelled "Who is it?"

No reply.

Instead I heard slow footsteps backing away from the door. Fearing I had scared them away, I sighed and shouted "come in." In defeat.

The footsteps stopped, and a voice cautiously called out "Uh... Suze?"

It was a guy's voice.

I couldn't tell whether it was Dopey, Sleepy or Andy. They all have pretty deep voices. I knew it wasn't Doc, because his voice is still pretty squeaky. Bless him...

The person knocked on my door and came in.

Well, I was expecting Sleepy or Andy.

Not Dopey.

"Uh... Suze?" He repeated.

"Yeah?"

"Can I... can I talk to you for a minute? Uh, please?"

Wow!

Never thought I'd see the day that Dopey used manners to talk to me.

"Go ahead." He looked a little uncomfortable stood in the doorway, so I told him to take a seat, gesturing to my swivel desk chair. Instead though, he came and sat at the bottom of my bed.

"Uh... Suze?" It was really getting on my nerves him keep saying that, but I just smiled and nodded, keeping my temper.

"You not wanting to move... does it have something to with why you keep yelling in your sleep? Or to do with that Jesse guy?" he questioned.

I blanched.

He could hear me?

And Jesse?

How much does he know about Paul and me?

Or what about me and Jesse?

I laughed nervously. "W-what do you mean I talk in my sleep? I don't talk in my sleep! Nope, total non-sleep talker! Uh huh, that's me. The quietest sleeper in the world!" I babbled.

He raised an eyebrow and said "Wow. You should really enter some kind of competition or something. Suze Simon, the world's fastest talker... not to mention loudest sleep talker."

"Hey! I do not sleep talk! I must have been awake when you heard me!"

Okay, a lie. I know since the whole Paul thing I've been saying stuff out loud, but hey, no need for him to know that right?

"Sure, Suze. Coz you're really gonna scream `get away Paul` while your awake and nobody else is in your room."

Damn! Got me there!

I stuttered something incoherent, but he cut me off anyway.

"Listen Suze, I'm not as stupid as you think, okay? I know something weird is going on with you and what's-his-name. Paul Slater. And that Jesse dude. I know that Paul did something to you, and... And for that, he can deal with Jake and me. I know that Jesse isn't, well... normal. And neither are you. Also, that whatever you are, Father Dom knows about it. If he didn't know, then I would probably make you tell me, but if he knows, then you can't get into _too _much trouble. Well, if you can call destroying our schools breezeway _not too much trouble_."

I smiled despite the fact that I was screaming inside. I mean, I knew Doc and sleepy liked me, but... well...

I thought Brad hated me. And with good reason too. I do tend to tease him to no end, so...

Yeah.

He has good reason, so I was pretty touched when he said that thing about him and Jake beating him up. Even if I know that Paul could easily kill them both. Literally. One touch and he could probably banish their souls to hell. Well, the shadow land, but you never know. He could...

Ignoring the fact that if Brad could tell something was up, then pretty much anyone could, I said "Thanks Brad." I seriously didn't know what to say. I mean is there a right thing to say to someone you thought despised your very being, and then offered to get revenge for you?

I think not.

So yeah, I think I had a right to be a little speechless.

"Suze? I was wondering... will you ever tell anyone what it is that's different about you? Well, will you ever tell me and Jake anyway? After all, it is me that got that stupid gang idea out of his head!"

I considered that for a moment. If they knew _something_ was up, would they believe me if I told them _what_ was up?

"... Maybe."

He grinned and said "So yeah, is it to do with those two guys that you don't want to go? Or were you just taking a break from being Queen of the night people, to be a Drama Queen?" He said it jokingly, but I knew he was serious.

"Uh... kind of." With that, he smiled and walked out of the room.

Believe it or not, I actually felt better. Brad had cheered me up, even though deep down, I was worried someone else would figure out I was a biological freak.

How great _that_ would be! All I'd need then is for Andy to come in and tell me he and Jesse are going to a football match, and that he's staying for a sleepover with Max! Grrrrrrrrr.

A few minutes later, there was another knock at my door, and wavering voice cautiously called out "Susannah?"

"Come in!" I yodelled back. If mom had called me my full name, it meant she was either _really _worried, or _really _angry. I looked down, remembering how harsh I had been earlier.

I noticed she had tear tracks running down her face and her eyebrows were furrowed in... Concern?

Oh great. She probably heard me and Brad chatting, thinks I'm off my rocker and has bought me a one way ticket to the Looney bin!

In other words, she probably thinks I'm mad and is sending me to an asylum!

I looked down, sighing.

"Mom, I'm-"She cut me off saying

"I'm sorry, Suzie."

I think my jaw must have hit the floor just about then. Why was she sorry? She wasn't the one who hurt everyone's feelings, by repeatedly screaming at them that she hates them.

"You're sorry? You're sorry? Mom, what do you mean, you're sorry? You didn't do anything wrong! No mom, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to say the things I said, and I certainly did not mean it!" I felt horrified with myself for making my mother think I hated her and that it was her fault I was angry and upset.

"No, honey. It's only understandable that you're upset about leaving. I mean, lately, things have been _so_ good for us! Since moving here, our lives have been wonderful! You've made friends with so many people, Adam, Ceecee, Father Dominic, even! And, oh, you're so popular with all the boys, Suzie! Bryce, Tad, Michael, Paul..." She sighed looking at me with sad eyes.

Although I wanted to vomit at the idea of being Paul's girlfriend-not because he's ugly or anything, because he's anything but- I smiled warmly at my mom.

"Mom, I'm fine. Ceecee and Adam will live without me! I bet you I'll be _even more_ popular in Seattle. If I can make friends here, I can make friends there. Okay?" I said, even though I was really upset inside. To think, I won't be able to see CeeCee's face when Adam finally comes to his senses! And in Seattle, even if I am more popular with the guys it won't matter, because I've finally admitted it to myself...

I think I might be falling in love with Jesse De Silva.

"Oh, are you sure Suze? Your life really isn't fair! You've had to deal with so much, since such a young age!"

I smiled and assured her that it was no big deal, but on her way out, I quickly had a thought.

"Hey, uh, mom? Why have we got to move? What's the reason, I mean?"

"Oh, Andy's mother in law has cancer. The same as poor Cynthia. Oh, the boys may be very upset, Suze, so please be very nice. Especially to poor David. And punching Brad _isn't _nice, so please refrain from beating him up, no matter how annoying he gets."

"Ha ha. Very funny, mom. And I will d_efinitely_ be _extra _nice to all three of them. I know what it's like losing a family member..." I assured her seriously.

She looked troubled for a second, but the look melted again when she saw me staring at her.

"Okay honey. Thank you. And, I'm sorry to do this to you-again-but I'm sure things will be _great_ in Seattle!" and with that, she tip toed out.

"Oh. My. God, Simon! How the freakin' hell could you do this to us? We NEED you!"

"Yeah Suze. Please stay!"

"You know I can't-" I started, but was cut off by Adam.

"Oh come on, Suze! You've got to be kidding! You can just stay here with me! My parents won't mind. They'll just be glad a girl finally, actually LIKES me..." Adam suggested with a cheeky smirk.

I sighed smiling sadly at his humour. I decided the best way to tell them would be to make it easier by feigning nonchalance.

"I'm going to miss you, dude," I said chuckling to Adam. "And I'll miss you too, dudette!" I added turning to Ceecee. I could barely stop myself from choking up.

It was my last opportunity to speak to them. It was eleven am Saturday morning, and we had to leave tomorrow at five pm. We were on the beach, waiting for my mom to come and pick me up, so I could go pack. I heard a car pull around the corner and looked around, sadly. Mom's car pulled up and she looked over to me and nodded. She understood how hard it was to say goodbye and didn't try to hurry me or interrupt, or anything like that.

"I'm gonna ring you both as soon as I see my room! I will tell you _all_ about my new school and-Ceecee-I will tell you if I meet anyone nice. Namely of the guy variety."

They nodded, Ceecee teary eyed, and Adam thoughtful.

And then, in a sudden rush of affection for them both, I yanked them both into a humongous group hug, practically crushing their rib cages.

"Imgonnamissyousofreakin'much, Suze!" Ceecee wept.

"Me too, Suze!" Adam sniffled

"I'm gonna e-mail you both _all the time!_ I swear! And if I break said swear, may fire burn my body, wind sweep away my ashes and water cover my grave!" I exclaimed quoting a book Ceecee made me read one time.

With a few parting words from Adam-And I quote here '_see ya on the other side, wench'-_I hopped into my mom's Volvo (Andy convinced her to get a driver's licence) and we went home.

With a heavy heart, I trudged up the stairs and into my room. I didn't know how Jesse would take it.

My moving, that is. I guess he still has Father Dom to speak with right?

And besides, he hasn't like, officially said he loved me or anything.

Just kissed me and... Well, left. Yeah, you Jesse lovers. That's right. He kissed me and then won't even talk to me. NOT quite the gentleman you thought he was, eh?

Well, deal. It's my problem, not yours, you Suze-wannabe-creeps.

HAHA!

Yeah Suze. Coz your just sooooooo admirable!

Snort.

Well anyway, back off sisters, coz he COULD still love me. He's probably just... off on the astral plane. Bragging to Diego that he got SUUUUUUCH an amazing girlfriend...

Ha-ha-AGAIN!

Suddenly, to my left, there was a shimmering cascade of light blue light.

_Blue eyes will be watching you soon, Suzie-Q..._

Wow! Where did THAT thought come from? I t was like someone had- I don't know like, put it in there or something. But ya know, that'd be ridiculous. Who do **I **know, who could put thoughts in peoples' minds...?

Creepy...

"Susannah!" Jesses voice pierced my panicked psycho-mind-babbling. "Oh, Susannah! The Padre told me you were leaving... why?" Jesse looked pained.

Seeing him like that immediately saddened me right away.

"Look, Jesse..." I said awkwardly. Because really, what do you say to a guy, who-until that moment-you thought was mad at you or something, when you're going to leave? IS there any correct thing to say? Who knows...? "Andy's mom is really ill and so we have to move to... Seattle." I finished lamely.

A look of guilt crossed his face (for what, I've no idea) and then a look of recognition.

"S-Susannah, is Seattle not the place where that... that... BOY, lives? The one from the resort?" His voice was quiet with masked rage from remembering Paul.

_Blue..._

I gulped and said "Yes, Jesse. Paul does come from there. But, ya know, Seattle is a _pretty_ big place and I'm sure he would live in a pretty different area from me. After all, he is, like, MEGA rich. And besides, he sooooooo wouldn't recognise me! If you want, to insure that he doesn't, I could die my hair, and where sunglasses, like ALL the time! And maybe even-"I gushed letting all the words flow out at an in-human speed, when I was suddenly interrupted by Jesse placing a firm hand over my mouth.

"Please speak at an understandable pace, Susannah. It is a habit you really should get into. But-thankfully, I'm getting fairly good at deciphering your ... Speeches." He said awkwardly taking his hand (which I accidentally bit) away from my mouth. He must have gotten over the fact that like, three days ago, he had kissed me, so I just sat on my bed, a little uncomfortable.

He then told me he had caught the gist of my `speech` and decided I should be safe from Paul.

He then stopped, sighed, ran his fingers through his hair, and said "I am going to miss you dearly, mi querida... And I am sorry for being so... forward, when you saved me. I was just... grateful. But please Susannah... you simply MUST let me visit you sometime..." He concluded looking me right in the eye, a sorrowful expression planted firmly on his tanned face.

Hand on, back track for a moment, would ya?

He said he was freaking _sorry_ for kissing me? Well he actually said he was `sorry for being so forward` but whatever. Hey I just realised, when Tad Beaumont kissed me, he said he was being `too forward` as well, didn't he?

Yes, yes he did! So that means...

Maybe he DOES love me; he just likes to take things... slowly. Hurray! There's hope for Suze!

"Of course you can Jesse!" I said out raged he would think that we went through all that-all the things we'd done for each other-and then just... abandon him! "You can visit whenever you can and you feel like it. And... I don't mind you... ya know. What you apologised for..." I blushed a little and mentally scolded myself for sounding like an idiot. God, 17 years old and still couldn't say _kissed!_

Gawd, I'm an idiot!

His eyes looked hopeful-well to me at least-but his face remained grave...

Uh, no pun intended.

"Thank you, Susannah... for everything. It has been a pleasure having your friendship. I will miss you, so very much, and promise to visit when possible. Good luck with your ghost problems-you may even get a room to yourself, this time around-good luck with your new school-I know you'll be loved and liked by everyone there and be very popular- and good luck with your new life, querida-" His voice broke off, and a lone tear trailed down my cheek. His eyes were cloudy with unshed tears, and even though guys usually looked silly and childish when they cried, it just made Jesse look even better; emotional, sweet and caring.

"Thanks Jesse. I'm gonna miss you... a lot." My voice wobbled, but I refrained from sobbing. He gently pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around my waist. Mine immediately snaked around his neck, and a few more tears rolled noiselessly down my cheek, splattering Jesse's puffy sleeves on his shirt.

"Yo te pierdas Susannah. Te amo y siempre te recuerdo, aunque me olvidar y seguir adelante con la vida amar a alguien. alguien digno de ti. Te amo Susana y no olvides nunca que"

(A/n-according to the Spanish translator Jesse said "I will miss you Susannah. I love you and will forever remember you, even if you forget me and move on to loving someone living... someone worthy of you. I love you Susannah and don't ever forget that." Cheesy but apt.)

I didn't have a clue what it meant, but it shattered my heart anyway. To think, I was, leaving behind THIS to move because of someone I'd never even met! A funny feeling had taken over inside of me. Like, if I didn't sit down, I would fall on my butt or something, which would be pretty embarrassing.

I slowly pulled away and plonked myself down on my bed. Suddenly, Jesse's face brightened up a little. He knelt down on one knee, grabbed my hand, and spoke.

"Susannah Simon, do you promise to let me visit you, even if I have been a pain? As a returned favour for saving you? This way, you shall no longer be in my eternal debt..." He said it jokingly, but I knew he was being serious. And the way he said `_in my eternal debt...` _raised goose bumps on my arms. A nodded my head, saying "Of course, Jesse De Silva." In a mock posh tone. With that, he pulled my hand up to his mouth, and tenderly brushed his lips against my fingers, in an old fashioned kind of way...

Like Jesse. Old fashioned...

"T.T.F.N." I said trying to sound excited. I had taught Jesse a few months back what it stood for. I assumed he would remember.

"Ta, ta, for now, mi querida..." He stood up, stepped back and dematerialised.

Suddenly, I felt very alone. And VERY sad. A sob was ripped from my chest, as I began to fill my suitcases.


	4. Seattle

**A/N: I'm continuing onto chapter five now straight after this (I did say there would be a huge chunk of updates!)**

**Reminding you all to let me know about the forum!**

**DISCLAIMED.**

**-fizii**

Seattle

The first thing I noticed about Seattle when I stepped off of the plane was the weather. Seriously. Back in Carmel it had been about 90 degrees, but here it was only, like, 70-something!

Oh, and the noise! Remember when I arrived in Carmel and was telling you how peaceful it was there? That everyone was using their indoor voices? Yeah, well, in Seattle, it was more like New York again! UGH!

People are _so _annoying!

Mom and Andy had already shipped our furniture and stuff over here, so I didn't have too many bags to carry. I gracefully swept my bags from the conveyer belt and looked at Mom, Andy, Jake, Brad and David. Mom and Andy were helping each other get theirs. Jake and Brad were clumsily grabbing theirs, whispering to each other- although I have no _idea _what about. And David was trying not to get crushed by people hurriedly reaching for their belongings. Doc had finally reached his bags and was about to pick them up, when some ugly, balding 50 year old man, roughly shoved him out the way, causing Doc to fall to the floor on his shins. Now, you all know I hate being rude to the living but when they do something _wrong..._

Well, they deserve what they get, right? Yeah, it's like that old saying: what goes around comes around...

And that, folks, is why I went up to that man, demanding that he apologise to Doc. He simply stared at me, mouth gaping eyes wide with shock.

"Go on then. Say it. Or are you to busy trying to catch flies?"

_`You'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar...`_

Wow! That was pretty darn creepy. It felt like it wasn't even my thought. Well it was obviously MY thought, because it was in MY head... right? I mean, it's not as if people can just go around throwing their thoughts at people. Can they?

Ugh! Whatever. You see, this is what thinking about things does. It makes life complicated and confusing. Well, it does when that _thing_ happens to be The Spawn of Satan aka Paul Slater.

The mean dude had his mouth gaping open, but snapped it shut when I pointed it out to him. His fat face was completely crimson, as was his neck. David by then, had scurried over and was stood loyally by my side, and Sleepy and Dopey were behind me. I knew they were smirking without looking at them. I could just hear them in my head saying `_wow! Go Suze! Hurray! Kick the fat guys butt! ` _Only this time, I knew I was only imagining it. They weren't _actually_ in my head.

"Well man? Hurry up!" Jake snickered from behind me.

The tubby guy looked a little more scared now. Three teenagers sticking up for someone they love? Yeah, we can get scary. I was in my favourite holey-jeans, black blink 182 t-shirt, leather jacket and my bat-girl boots. Actually-save the tee-I was wearing exactly what I had been wearing on my first day in Carmel, too.

Jake and Brad wore similar outfits: Jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt with their favourite sports person on them- Jake's was some surfer dude and Brad's some beefy wrestler guy. I didn't recognise either of them.

The guy stuttered and I glared menacingly at him.

"I-I'm sorry, uh... Sir." He squeaked before darting to the side. I nodded seriously at David, before cracking up.

"He called you SIR! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I laughed manically for the next 30 seconds, before calming down enough to speak properly. "You okay Dave?"

He nodded with a straight face, before grinning wildly. Jake and Brad were doing that annoying thing guys always do, where they slap you on the back. Well, at least they don't play football, or they would be slapping me on the butt...

Ewww. Seriously, why do guys do that when they're playing football? All it makes people do is think they're gay! Yuck...!

I span around suddenly to face my mom. She was trying to look disapproving, but smiled a little anyway.

"Susannah..." I must admit, when she said that my heart strings twanged a little. _Jesse..._

NO SUZE! Don't depress yourself!

Mom opened her mouth to scold, but ended up saying "Well, I'm actually sort of glad you did that, but would it not have been better to do so more... politely?" She looked the four of us over and smiled slightly.

Brad, Jake, Dave and me, grinned and all said in unison "nope!" Mom laughed at us and we headed out of the airport to our new home.

Wow!

When we arrived at the house, I let out a gasp, Brad let out a low _yikes_ and Jake let out a long whistle of admiration. The house was even bigger than the last one; not huge, but definitely not small. It, like the last, looked pretty old and I hoped to God there were no ghosts living there-at least, not hot Latino ones who I was gonna fall in love with and be doomed to have to live life without them.

Not thinking of _anyone_ in particular...

"Wow, mom. How the hell did you get something like this?" I asked, awe-struck.

"Well, when we moved here, I got a promotion to an _even better_ station than the last." Mom could barely contain her excitement at revealing the news to us all.

"Oh, mom! That's excellent!" Jake exclaimed.

"Yeah mom. Well done!" I hugged her.

"Wicked, mom!" Brad said, grinning happily. Although I now saw Brad as a little nicer than before, I still knew he was a teenage boy, who liked popularity. I could practically see his small brain whirring at the idea of owning a house like that. He was probably thinking _'yes! It's sooooooo party time!'_ Or something.

"Congratulations, mom!" Doc- as per usual- was being very formal. Although he spoke formally, he was grinning like a mad man. He turned his head, discreetly winked at me and asked mom "What year was it built?"

I wasn't quite too bothered if there was a ghost there. I would just have to help him move on. So when mom looked over and saw me nod, she hesitated for a second and said "1750's, I think. Is that correct Andy."

"Indeed it is. I don't think this one had as many deaths, and no murders. Just some old servants that passed away." Andy confirmed.

Smirking, but still playful, Brad added, "Yeah, so I doubt this one should have any more_ ghosties_ for Doc to look out for." Doc flashed crimson but smiled anyway, looking at me.

We all turned back around to look at the house again: White walls, black gable roof, and a large-ish door which was coal black. The place seemed nice to me but I kept shivering whenever I thought of Paul or Jesse. The Jesse shivers were because I missed him and wished he could have died nice and peacefully- even though that meant I probably would not have met him. And the Paul shivers... well, they're obvious. I mean, come on, the dude left me and his little brother for dead up in the shadow land! That isn't really something that can give you the fuzzies for someone, is it?

As I was gorming, everyone else had grabbed their stuff and was heading up to the door. Beside the house was a _humongous_ black gate, with spikes on the top. No, I'm really not kidding. It looked like something from a prison!

"You coming' Suze?" Jake had noticed me stop.

"Oh, uh, I'll catch up. I wanna go look behind there." I pointed to the gate of doom and began walking up the long drive to the gate.

"Okay then. See you later."

Our new back yard was PRETTY big. Roughly a mile back was another house. Well I say house but what I mean is _mansion!_

Literally! It was colossal! The houses exterior was a lot like ours, just bigger and a hell of a lot fancier. A field separated the two and going through the middle was a stone path way. Off to one side was a little river which had a well a few feet away and a bridge over the top. It was a really pretty place to live. My eyes were dragged back over to the mansion and, using my extra-awesome-eyesight, I noticed a really old, carved in sign, on the house. Looking around me quickly, I decided it couldn't hurt to take a closer look. Right?

A few minutes later I was standing outside the humongous building, practically trespassing. Ah well. If they caught me I could easily get out of it. upon closer inspection, I could easily see that the sign said _κτήμα__, __τσιφλίκι__του__, __από__ o __πλούσιος_, _ταλαντούχος__. _

Underneath was another carved in note, saying, _manor of the rich._ As I was thinking to myself who would need to have that very obvious piece of information spelt out for them, I saw something move at the window. I watched a second longer, before turning around and heading back. I mean, I was on someone else's land. Although I should have known better, I kept my eyes to the side, so I could partially see behind me. The thing I saw however was not some snobby butler, or some rich pompous lawyer. Oh, no. What I saw, were three ghosts, who looked a little... curious? Well, that's new.

"Who's that?" a tall albino-ish one asked. He was pale with white hair - like CeeCee's – and shockingly pale blue eyes. Without thinking, I found myself comparing them to Pauls, before internally scolding myself.

"I dunno. She isn't familiar." a shorter one answered. He had dark blonde hair, spiked up into a sophisticated spiky style. His eyes were blue-green and looked similar to that of Adam Mctavish.

"Guys, can you sense that? She seems different to the other girls we've seen-and I mean that in a totally non-cheesy way. Can't you feel it?" the last questioned. His hair was black, with little dark blue highlights. It really was quite a cool look and contrasted well with his stormy grey eyes. "Hey. You. Can you hear us?" he yelled.

I froze and spun slowly, pretending I hadn't heard them before. "Uh, yeah. I can." I said awkwardly. The blondes face lit up, making him look like he had something he had wanted for ages.

"You can see us! That means you can help!" he cried, gleeful.

They all looked about my age and none of them really seemed horrible or dangerous. Although, the one with the dark hair seemed to have something about him that said _watch your back, I strike when unexpected!_ I could tell, just from that quick glance that they were popular-before they died, I mean. The albino looked like he was a swimmer or something from his build. Blondie looked more like a basketball player and highlight guy appeared to be a wrestler. Funny how I knew all this from one look, right?

I smiled brightly, deciding to get this over and done with. "Uh, sure, I can try and help, but I'm afraid I can't bring you to life-that isn't part of my job." I shrugged apologetically, hoping that if I played good little mediator, they would leave faster. I could also tell that they hadn't been dead very long. Whenever I tell ghosts I can't resurrect them, they usually blow up at me and tell me I'm useless and ask what good I am. I've learnt not to take it personally, and pretty much always expect it. So I got a little surprise when he spoke next.

"Oh, alright. We were just wondering... uh, well..." he sighed looking down awkwardly. "Long story short, we were murdered and are hoping you can lead the police to the right guy." Oh.

Well, that was simple. He looked a little guilty but I didn't know why. I lowered my voice, remembering I was still on someone else's property and whispered, "I'll do everything I can, but would you mind coming over to the river to talk to me? I don't really want the new neighbours to think I'm a mental case, ya know?" Wow. I was astounded by my friendliness. I guess I just wanted to make a fresh start with the whole helping-ghosts-without-using-my-fists-thing a go. Ugh, I spent too much time around Father Dominic, didn't I?

"Uh..."the albino mumbled casting a sideways glance over to highlights boy. "Can we maybe sit somewhere else? I really like the spot over by the... uh... tree. Over there." I totally knew that wasn't why he didn't want to sit by the river. He knew that I knew that that wasn't why he wanted to sit by the river. But I let it slide, hoping I'd find out some other way.

"Sure thing," I responded. They nodded and briskly began to float over there, me following behind.

When we got there, I plonked myself down on the grass and they followed suit.

"So..." Blondie began, "How come you can see us but the others can't? I mean, I'm assuming they aren't ignoring us and that it's not special effects when we walk through them!" he joked half-heartedly.

I was asked this question all the time, so I was pretty good at explaining. "Well, I'm Suze Simon and I'm a shifter-`I inwardly cringed as I thought about how lucky these three were that they came to me instead of him`-my job is to help spirits-like yourselves-to pass on to wherever it is you're supposed to be." Usually this inspires a gasp or 20 questions, but they just nodded in understanding, which I found odd- then again, they were teenage boys and dead or not, teenage boys aren't really that talkative.

"Oh, okay then, Suze. I'm Sam Whitwell," said Blondie. Pointing to the albino he said "This is Matthew Shore. And this `he indicated to highlight boy who nodded nonchalantly` is Zack Rutland. Before we... died" he spat the word out uncertainly, glancing at the other two and looking pained "we all attended St Christopher's High School, here in Seattle. The three of us were pretty popular, but mainly stuck with each other cause we've known each other since kindergarten. I was on the basketball team; Matthew was on the swim team and Zack the wrestling team." He seemed to like talking but I was sort of delaying going into my new house, for I was afraid I wouldn't like it.

Nodding, I cautiously asked Blondie-or Sam as he introduced himself-the question most ghosts hate telling me about, "Uh, great. So... how did you die?" I was sure to maintain eye contact with Sam because I was getting a far friendlier vibe from him, but what I asked seemed to suddenly make him wary. When I doubted any of them were going to speak, I carried on, "Come on guys. You can't expect me to tell the police without knowing who it was and how it was done, right? I mean, I've tried it once before; it did not go well!" they still weren't speaking so I decided to try and be all friendly. "Well? Come on, I won't laugh at you or anything. This one time, I had a grown man come to me and say he fell asleep in his bathtub and I still didn't laugh!"

This time, Matthew looked at the other two and spoke directly to me, not even glancing at the others as he did," We were murdered at a house party. THAT house party, actually. We were all a little bit drunk and someone just went and decided to off us!" he indicated to the mansion.

Now, he looked kind of mad. Finally, I get a rational response! Actually, even Sam did. So, being extra careful, I pried "So... who was it? That... offed you I mean?"

Their faces went blank with confusion for a second, before Zack the highlight guy growled in a deadly low voice "You expect us, to remember? Babe" he laughed hollowly "we were all hammered! We're 17, we like us our alcohol. Well, we did, until we were KILLED FOR NO REASON!" He bellowed the last bit in my face and Sam shot me an apologetic look, trying to calm him down. I stayed stock still until he moved and noticed he looked slightly sad as well as immensely angry.

"Dude, look. Get a grip. I just need to know everything that could help me, and most tend to know that already. Okay? Good. Now, due to your lack of knowledge on your killer, this will be sorta difficult. What do you know about them? Or what do you suspect?" I questioned losing my temper slightly at his outburst. After all, I was only trying to help.

Zack seemed shocked at me so I assured him that I dealt with angry ghosts all the time, and, thin lipped, he sat back down. Sam mouthed sorry at me behind Zack's back but Zack said in a perfectly calm voice "Don't bother Sam. We all know you just wanna get on her good side..."

Turning slightly red, Sam retorted "Well, at least I ain't hitting on a girl who moves on to other guys' a.s.a.p. and doesn't know I even exist anymore!" and then he added "Oh and I'm not hitting on her! I want to leave this stupid half-life!"

Turning red with anger, Zack shouted "Just shut the hell up Sam! You don't know anything!" He was absolutely livid!

I looked over at Matthew and he signed to me to stand up. I did so very slowly. Meanwhile, Sam and Zack were having quite the argument. I didn't hear what, but Zack said something which caused Sam to snap his fist back and make it smack strait into Zack's nose. Ouch!

"God... sorry Suze they do this all the frickin' time! I'm gonna grab Zack to get him off, do you think you could maybe get Sam? I don't think he's quite as powerful as Zack, but be careful, his fist still hurts." I nodded and we both surged forward to grab the ghostie boys.

When I got a hold of him, he accidentally elbowed me in the stomach, causing me to let go and he rushed forward to Zack so they could carry out their brawl. I was kinder mad that he'd done that, which is why I did what I did. I could vaguely hear Matthew ask if I was okay, but I didn't listen. I hopped up and stalked over to the two boys.

"Stop it! Now!" I yelled. They didn't listen, which really pissed me off. "Oi!" I bellowed, grabbing handfuls of their collars and yanking them back. Sam seemed to give up, but Zack struggled trying to flip me off.

"Are you bloody deaf or something? I told you to stop!" I shrieked.

Unfortunately-for Zack-he then called me a name I really don't think I deserved, which earned him a fist to the side of the head. Ouch!

He spun back swearing. I sniggered a little at his weakness, before feeling bad. But why should I feel bad? After all, it was HIS fault for being an idiot.

"Wow, Suze. Didn't think you had it in ya! You pack quite the punch for someone so... petite!" Matthew laughed. "She sure showed you up man! God, I think you need some more practice with the wrestling!" he said, directly to Zack, who scowled at all of us.

"Well, I just weren't expecting it is all. If I knew her fist hurt so much, I would have got her off me quicker; I didn't think she would really hit me! Most _normal_ girls wouldn't dare! Too afraid of messing up my handsome face." Zack retorted snidely. I knew he meant the normal thing as an insult, and it did kinda hurt, but I just smiled and replied,

"Oh! Why thank you Zack! I'm glad you think I'm so _above_ average! And yeah, I ain't ya average girl; as previously mentioned I'm a shifter- you know the saying, right? Not just a pretty face? Well I have to be better than most so I can deal with your new physic powers because you're dead." harsh but necessary. His cocky demeanour was reminding me a little too much of someone I desperately didn't want to think about...

"You. Little-"Zack began, but Sam cut him off.

"Look dude, this is the only way we're getting out of here, and if we ain't nice she ain't gonna help us, is she? No she ain't. So unless you wanna stick around here for all eternity, we better not be too... nasty. Got it?"

Still scowling horribly, Zack nodded. I asked them again if they knew absolutely anything or if they had any suspicions.

"All we know, as in solid evidence, is that we were drowned in that river, right over there." Sam pointed to a little section of the river right in between the two houses. It was a particularly nasty looking part of the river.

"When did it happen? Do you think it was someone that lives there?" I questioned, looking directly into Sam's eyes.

"It happened a month ago and no, we're fairly sure it wasn't the dude that threw the party. He was sound but he barely spoke to us. He had no reason to." He replied.

"Yeah, that was a rockin' house party before _it _happened. I have a suspect, but he had no reason to actually want to _kill _me! Or the others! They hadn't ever done _anything_ wrong!" Zack yelled the last line.

"Yeah, Zack thinks it might be Max. He was hot for Zacky's girl." Matthew spoke quietly, making sure only I could hear him. "Max goes to St Christopher's and he used to really hate us when Zack started going out with Rose, his ex. And when we all died, he gave up on chasing her because she moved onto some guy her mate introduced her to."

I gasped, starting to really hate her. A rather unflattering name popped into my head, but I chose to ignore it. It was Maria De Silva and Felix Diego all over again! I mean, that's exactly what she did! Diego killed Felix, like how Max-or so they suspected-killed Zack. Then Maria moved onto some other guy straight away, just as Rose did! I REALLY started to hate her when I felt a twang in my heart remembering Jesse and what we could never have; for three reasons: Seattle is too far from Carmel, Paul won't let me and, oh, yeah, HE'S DEAD!

"Suze? Suze? Are you alright?" Matthew was snapping his fingers in front of my face, bringing my attention back to the present. I realized I had completely zoned out.

"Oh, yeah, I'm good. Sorry dudes, day dreaming." I spoke quickly shaking my head, as if this alone would get rid of my thoughts of Paul.

"Alright then, we best leave you to your new house. Will you meet us out here tomorrow? We'll be here, by the tree." Matthew said. I nodded and made my way back to the house.

"Hey, An- uh, dad? Whose is the massive house? You know the one behind here?" I asked. I decided to make a special effort to make Andy feel better about dragging me to Seattle. After all, the boys call my mom, mom, so why not?

"Oh, that humongous mansion thing? It belongs to some rich surgeon. Back when the house was built, this used to be the servants quarters, as well as a storage place for clothing and what not. But now, it's just a house. They have two kids I think. A younger one who's about 8 and an older one, around yours, maybe Jakes age. The people who used to live here said they were no trouble though. But no matter how nice they are, Suze, be careful while you're walking around out there. If they think you're gonna steal something, they'll call the police and I'm fairly sure they'd believe their word over yours-uh, no offence though, Suze." He said seriously. I nodded and told him it was beautiful out there, and he agreed

When I got to my room, I noticed with a smile that mom had decided I could have purple for my room this time instead of pink. I still had the canopy bed, but the walls were an elegant looking purple, which I knew CeeCee would love. My bedding and curtains were a light mauve and had white flowers snaking up them. They looked magnificent! There was a soft knock on the door and my mother called my name.

"You decent, Suze?" she called. I told her to come on in and she did.

"Do you like your new room, Suzie? I thought you might like the purple better than the pink."

"Yeah mom, I love it. Purple is definitely my preferred colour. The view out of my window looks amazing! I cannot wait for the sun set. It will look amazing from in here. I took a look outside and it's really pretty. I love rivers. They're really... calming, aren't they?" I smiled up at her. We had moved over to the window seat and were both sitting on the edge. Because my room was at the back of the house, I had a perfect view of the mansion and the landscape. Sitting here, it seemed as though we were in a different time. So calm...

That is, until I saw a ghost waving manically at me from next to the biggest of the trees, grinning like a mad man. I jumped and fell off the window seat with a squeal.

With a worried gasp, mom helped me up. "Are you okay? What happened?" she questioned, worried by the quick shattering of serenity.

"Uh, there was a bug. A spider. Big. Black. With lots of legs!" I lied. Mom knew I hated bugs and so did she. "It's okay though. It's outside. I saw it crawling down the outside window pain."

She seemed to believe me and turned to leave. Before she did, she added, "Oh, Suze! I forgot to mention, you, David, Jake and Bradley all have school tomorrow. You'll all be attending St Christopher's. Dinner is in an hour, so you might as well unpack." She left.

Damn! I'm going to the Ghosties School!


	5. St Christopher's high school

**A/N: DISCLAIMED. And all that jazz... Now I'm off to enjoy the sun, have a good day y'all!**

St Christopher's high school!

Suze POV

"Suze! Get up! We cannot be late for the first day of school!" Brad yodelled up the stairs. It was Monday and the holidays were over, so we all had school. At St Christopher's high school.

"I'm up, I'm up! I shouted, climbing out of bed. I decided on what to where the night before and had picked out quite a stylish outfit, to make a good impression. I didn't want to be labelled as a nerdy freak on my first day and unlike at JSMA I didn't want too much of a reputation as the-tough-girl-who-no-sane-boy-would-like-for-fear-of-getting-beaten-up. Plus, as I proved with the ghosts, the surprise attack works best. You know, make them think you're weak and helpless before kicking their butt to Mars.

My white Three quarters matched my tee perfectly. It was dark purple with black roses snaking around the bottom, making me look _very, very_ fashionable! I slipped on some totally cute black ballet flats and straitened my hair; CeeCee said it made my eyes look even prettier.

Ten minutes later, I arrived at St Christopher's High School. Three words for you; huge and fancy! The white stucco walls made the grand black entrance seem even more intimidating, but at the same time making it looks _totally _magnificent! Unlike JSMA, it was a high school only, meaning no young kids. Teenagers-much like me-flocked around the place, clustered in groups and pairs.

Easily decipherable, the popular kids were climbing out of sports cars, all wearing what must have been the latest fashion in Seattle, but was a little behind in California. The geeks/nerds were dismounting the yellow school bus, peering through the gaps in the crowd, trying to see their buddies. Beside me, Brad whispered "Well, good luck. I'll be here in the car after school. Don't be late." Before walking off, towards the principal's office to fetch his schedule for the day.

"Well, may as well get it over with..." I mumbled to myself as I cautiously made my way over to the fountain. Sitting down, it seemed to be easier to actually _feel_ my stomach, because when I was stood up, it felt as though it was non-existent. Kind of like my social life just then. On my first day to JSMA I was nowhere near as nervous, but that's because last time, I didn't have a stalker waiting for me.

And then, right on cue, a voice whispered in my ear, "Miss me?"

I swear I only screamed for like, a second. Or two.

"Paul! What the hell are you doing here? Leave me alone!" I shouted strongly...

Ha! I wish. Nah, I actually just did the scream and a whole lot of blinking. "G-go away." I muttered, forcing my gaze to the ground. Wow, Suze. Coz that sounded _sooooooo _commanding, didn't it? Feigning hurt, Paul said, "What? No hello hugs for Uncle Paulie? Awwwww Suze, I think I'm gonna cry." Smirking, he perched down on the fountain next to me. He shifted real close and whispered into my ear, "Come on, Suze... you know you're buzzing inside at the very thought of spending a year with yours truly..."

Swallowing, I responded, "Paul. Please move away so I can make my way to the principal. I need to see him for my schedule." As I went to move away, he caught my wrist and held it. It wasn't a violent gesture but it had me freaked all the same. Remember, this guy had been starring in my nightmares, every night. That isn't really something that'd give someone the fuzzies for ya.

_Oh, but were they really nightmares? Or dreams?_

... Okay? Again, I had that creepy sensation that someone was putting thoughts into my head, without my permission.

"Oh, so you live here now do you? Where 'bouts?" I swear I almost told him! My mouth was opening and my voice was perfectly fine, but thankfully, it just wouldn't come out. Instead, I chose to tell him it was none of his business and to keep him nose out of other people's stuff, when I heard a whistle and a voice shout, "Slater! Who's the pretty girl?" Grinning, Paul replied, "All you need to know, is she's mine, not yours, so back off Turner!" it was easy to see that the two of them were buddies and I could also tell they were only mucking around.

However, my face still heated up at his protectiveness

"Ooooh! Look Slater, ya making her blush!" he cried, laughing.

"Yeah, I do tend to have that effect on the ladies!" he smirked back. Then, speaking only so I could hear him, he added, "And Suze, I know what you're thinking. I'm not kidding, he really can't have you." Sometime during our talking, I had seated myself down again and, when he told me that, I jumped up faster than he could say `kidding! `

I walked over to the guy who was watching us-Pauls friend-and stuck my hand out. "Suze Simon, hater of Slater."

"Callum Turner, mate of ya date." He indicated to Paul with his head and shook my hand. Rapidly, I shook my head.

"Nah, we don't go out. I just know him from a hotel he stayed at where I lived a little while ago. So, you're seriously friends with him? He just seemed like a bit of a nutter when I met him last." I spoke quietly, hoping Paul would get paranoid.

"Well, yeah, he is. I just hang out with him coz he's rich!" he joked. The conversation was all very good natured and he didn't seem to really think I thought Paul was crazy. He seemed to think I was kidding about everything. "So, you said aren't dating Slater? That means you're not taken?" He had raised his voice a little now that he knew me and Paul weren't together.

"Well-"I went to say, but Paul had rushed up behind me and flung a hand over my mouth, snarling at Callum, "Suze you little joke! Hahaha she's so funny isn't she man? Yeah, well whatever. Stay away from her, Turner. Come on babe..." he said before dragging me away somewhere, hand still on my mouth.

I thrashed about, but his grip? Yeah, the dream Paul couldn't _begin_ to compare to this. School had started so nobody else was anywhere near. I figured if I were a good little Suze then he would let go of me sooner.

Finally, we arrived at what appeared to be, the school gym field. There were colossal metal fences surrounding us and absolutely no body was there. Hurray...

He moved his hand and I whimpered. Could you blame me? This guy wanted to KILL me! I don't really want to die at a young age. He looked down at, perplexed.

"Uh... Suze? Did you just... uh, whimper? You know that thing people do when they're scared." I laughed awkwardly and gulped as he took a step towards me, so we were face to face. "Why are you scared? Tell me Suze." He commanded. I didn't answer straight away and he shut his eyes.

"I'm scared because you want to kill me and that if I anger you, you might get revenge on me, via Jesse!" OH. MY. GOD! I swear I didn't mean to say it! I didn't even want to! I didn't tell my brain to or anything! The words were dragged from my mouth completely without my permission!

For some unknown reason, Paul Slater looked... hurt! My eyes already wide from my blabbing but then I acquired fist in mouth too!

"Suze..." he whispered. He really looked so upset, I almost apologised. In fact, in the heat of the moment, I actually picked up his hand to encourage him to tell me why he was all of a sudden so upset. I kinda felt guilty. Yes, I am being serious. I go from being scared to death of him to wanting to comfort him, tell him I would make it better, if only he would tell me what was wrong.

"Yes Paul? What is it?" I prompted.

Looking me in the eye, he said, "Suze... I would never hurt you. Why would you think I want to kill you?" he still looked all lost-puppy-like and hurt, but as I went to tell him why-I was completely out of it-he added, "If it's because of that thing in the purgatory, I'm sorry Suze but I thought you knew how to get out. You're a shifter Suze, not a mediator; you can travel back and forth between the two places all you want." I stared at him, stunned. _What did he just say?_

"I-I-I... God. I don't know what but that is... no way. You're so lying. "I protested disbelieving. I went to let go of his hand, finally out of my weird poor-little-Paulie trance and onto the stunned no-way-you're-lying one.

"If you don't believe me, try it. Picture the hallway in your head and will yourself to be there. When you open your eyes you will be." He smiled-yes smiled, not smirked-and added, "Unless of course, you're too scared. After all, you are just a little girl..." he pretended to sigh in disappointment, and before I could come up with a witty reply, a woman's voice yelled, "Mr Slater! Who is that? And why aren't you in class?"

A large woman of about 50 was approaching us, waddling pretty fast for someone so big. She must have weighed more than me and Paul put together. "Damn..." Paul murmured, barely moving his lips. "Just go along with what I say, unless you want detention for a month. Oh and put your head down." He whispered. I discreetly nodded my head as the short haired teacher halted in front of us.

"Miss Wood. This is Susannah Simon; she just transferred here from California. I was on my way to class when I saw her sat over here crying. Obviously, I couldn't just leave her here, so I asked what was wrong. She told me she got lost when looking for Mr Holmes' office and when she asked someone where it was they refused to tell her and just laughed." Wow. Paul's ability to lie so convincingly was pretty worrying yet so... _awesome! _He was so smooth about it that it was even hard for me to not believe it and I was the one he lying about!

Instantly, the teacher started questioning me about what they looked like, sounded like et cetera.

"Miss, from what she described to me it sounded like Kelsey Price, Danielle Manley and Callum Turner." Paul answered for me. Why was Paul saying it was Callum? Ah well, who cares.

"I must report this to their head of year immediately! This sort of behaviour is just unacceptable! And on your first day..." she said looking down at me sympathetically. I could tell she was going to be a little like sister Ernestine, but hopefully a little more bearable. "Oh and thank you Mr Slater. You have shown real school spirit for once. Why don't you help Miss Simon today? Tell Mr Holmes I have given you my permission to stay with her. Good, now off to his office." And she waddled away.

Yeah... suddenly hating her more than the nun.

"Well Suze, looks like you've got me for the day." he smirked, grabbing my hand and yanking me off the bench. Now that I didn't think he wanted to kill me anymore, the fear was replaced by anger.

"Hey! Ever heard of personal space? And I am NOT your 'babe', so don't go telling people that. "I shook his hand off. He stopped and made me look him in the eye.

"So you don't want me to tell people you aren't my babe?" he said smugly.

"What? No!"

"But that's what you just said! You said, `I am not your babe so don't tell people that`, meaning you don't want me to tell people you're not my babe, which must mean that you want to be my babe and want me to tell people that!" he argued imitating my voice. Although I was majorly cheesed off, I did think it was pretty clever what he did. He was just good at manipulating the truth so it suited him! It would actually be quite a handy skill if he were to become a lawyer.

We were, I realised, on our way to the principal's office. Not to mention we were actually having a... a conversation! I know, scary thought right? Well yeah, we were. Not quite a normal conversation, but definitely not an argument. Just bickering. It was actually-dare I say it?-quite fun. As I was getting to know him a little better, I realised Paul Slater wasn't really the villain I thought he was. Also that he had an odd sense of humour.

Oh now don't get the wrong idea. I would much rather be having a conversation with Jesse about my latest mediating problem, but it wasn't like, make me want to kill myself bad or anything.

Within no time, we had arrived at the principal's office. He told me as it was the first day back, no serious, vital work was being done in any of the classes and he advised me to spend the day looking around with Paul. It was 11:15 and school was due to end at 2:45. He told me my locker number and combination so we went to dump my bag in it.

I noticed that the lockers here were like a mixture between the ones from New York and California. Some had pictures/stickers and others were shiny and spotless. It turned out that Paul's locker was the one right next to mine and so I could see what he had in it; a photo, blue tacked to the inside of its door. He had drawn on, in purple felt tip pen, a spiral border which framed the two faces. In the top right hand corner was the name of the beach the two people were on. Now normally I wouldn't get freaked at the sight of a picture, but this one? Yeah, it got me pretty freaked!

"Paul! What the hell is this?" it was a picture of us. It was from our one date when he was at the hotel. The one due in which Maria exorcised Jesse. But that isn't the part which got me freaked. Oh no. It was actually because me and Paul looked rather, well... good together.

He was clad in these half casual/half formal khaki three quarters, a pale blue button down shirt and a brown jacket, which was again, half and half.

I donned a white dress that hung off my legs around the knees, coupled with a black cardigan that ended half way down my stomach. I looked pretty good if I may say so myself!

We were both lying down next to each other in the sand, one of Paul's arms holding the camera, the other around my waist pulling me closer so I would fit in the picture. The sun was setting, giving us both this... glow. Now, I don't know much about auras but I bet if I showed that picture to Aunt Pru or someone, they would say my aura was pulsing with happiness or something. And I won't lie to you, that night was highly enjoyable. Back then, I didn't know Jesse liked me or that Paul hated Jesse. Why I still don't know. We looked like the type of teenagers who were young and in love, hoping to get Prom King and Prom Queen or something.

But we weren't. Well, Paul could have I suppose, but I doubt it.

I looked back to Paul who was blushing-YES, Paul Slater actually blushed!-and saw that as well as looking embarrassed he looked a little curious. "We look good together, don't we Simon?" He whispered so low I wasn't sure whether I actually heard him or not. My eyebrows creased and I murmured, "We don't look too bad I guess..." Don't go getting the wrong impression. I wasn't having second thoughts about Jesse or anything. I was however, thinking about what Paul and me would be like if we went out.

Would he dump after a week? Would he hardly ever speak to me? Would he not let me spend time with my friends when I wanted to but hang with his all the time...?

Or would he go out with me all the way through college? Would he invite me round for dinner all the time? Would he let us go out on group dates as well as dates where it's just us...?

"Suze? Su-ooze? Suze!" I realised Paul had been trying to get my attention for quite some time now.

"Oh! Sorry Paul must've zoned out. What's up?" I said casually. I noticed he was smiling but trying really, really hard not to.

"I was wondering... you know shifters, the thing that you and I are? Well, they can do other stuff too. Other than see ghosts and travel to purgatory. Do you think... that maybe you would let me teach you? I've got loads of information on different interesting techniques that may help, not to mention stuff that tells us about our history, although the practical stuff is more fun." He asked.

I weighed down my options: learn what I've wanted to know all my life from Paul, or stay away from him and still not know? Hmmmm...

"I think that'd be... great." I told him a hint of a smile forming on my lips. He grinned, physically unable not to.

"Brill! Uh, can we start tonight? Or are you busy?" thinking he sounded a little desperate he amended, "I mean, how's tonight for you? Ya know, the quicker you learn how to deal with the pesky ghosts the better."

"Tonight is great. Should we go straight from school or what?" I questioned. He told me he would take me home and I agreed. I was willing to give being nice to him a try-so long as he behaved-now that I knew the thing in Shadowland had been a misunderstanding. I know he was telling the truth because my shifter instincts weren't yelling beware!

"Uh, I can take you after school, if you want. My parents won't mind." His voice darkened a little as he spoke of his parents and I nodded.

Just as he went to say something else, I saw a shocked looking Brad.

"Brad!" I shouted. It wasn't the end of lesson yet, so I was curious as to why he was out.

"Suze is that...?" he asked stunned.

"Paul Slater? Yeah, he's cool." I answered. Paul spun around to face Brad who was jogging towards us down the hall. I used my hands to tell him to shoo. He looked me in the eye, saw that I wasn't hurt and looked back to Paul.

"Slater." He said, shaking Paul's hand.

"Ackerman." Paul replied politely. Something clicked in my head and I found myself wondering how he knew who Brad was. Brad knew because he had seen Paul's picture in my room before I took it down. We both had a copy-me and Paul-of the picture in his locker. I had put mine on my desk in my room, but mom found it and tacked it onto my wall.

"Oh, are you taking Suze home tonight? After school?" Paul questioned. Brad nodded cautiously and cast a glance at me. "Oh, it's alright. Suze is coming' with me, aren't ya Suze?" he shot at me. I nodded and Brad looked highly confused but didn't elaborate. He told me not to be late for dinner or else Andy would have my guts for garters and left.

Paul carried on showing me round, looking a bit hurt again and as I went to ask him if he was okay, he just said it didn't matter.

"Hey Paul! Where ya been all day man? Assembly sucked this morning with nobody to- whoa!" a tall boy asked. Again, he looked popular, rich and handsome but nowhere near as good as Pa-

Cough. I mean, uh, nowhere near as good as, uh, Chad Michael Murray. (Good save Suze!)

His hair was reddish-brown, his eyes amazing amber, which had a little mischievous twinkle in them, but not mean or anything. He looked fun loving, sort of similar to Adam but with a way better social status. His teeth were all even and white and I wondered if he went to the same orthodontist as Paul, or something.

Finally, my small brain managed to comprehend that his _whoa_ was meant for me. Again, I blushed-WHY did I keep doing that?-and looked over at Paul, silently asking who this was.

Next to the boy was someone else that I hadn't seen before, as he had come up a few seconds later. He had dark brown hair that looked really soft and stormy grey eyes, a lot like one of the ghosts. As I looked at his eyes, I noticed that he too was checking me out. I seriously wish guys would stop that; it's so annoying! I mean, shouldn't one guy be plenty? But no, I had Callum, Paul, and now these two! Grrrrrrrrr...

"Hey Luke, hey Kieran." He greeted them smiling. He must have noticed that I was looking at them.

"Who's this?" stormy eyes asked, finally looking over to Paul.

Paul grabbed my hand and said, "Oh this? This is Suze. She's just moved here. We went out in the summer. She was at the hotel I stayed at, weren't ya babe?" return of the smirk.

I tried to pull my arm away but couldn't even move it a tiny little bit! "Ha-ha, Paul you're so funny." I said sarcastically, before adding, "Now, will you please let go?" I accompanied this with a glare and a tug on my arm.

He laughed and good naturedly patted me on the head. I continued to glare and sulked. "Now look! You've messed my hair up!"

He let go of hand and dragged it up my arm before combing through my hair with his fingers. "There, it looks nice and tidy. Happy?" I continued to glare and he said, "You're no fun." And pouted sarcastically, pretending I had made him bored.

Finally able to move, I walked over to the two boys. I stuck my hand out the first (the one with reddish-brown hair and amber eyes) and reported, "Hey, I'm Suze Simon, ex-new Yorker and kick boxer extraordinaire, so don't get on my bad side. I just moved here from California. The only reason Paul knows me is because I had to look after his little brother. Oh, and Paul lied, we didn't exactly _go out_ as going out usually means you actually want to go. It was a pity date."

The boy looked stunned, and replied, "Wow. You're _way_ more fun than the other girls around here. They're all desperate to go out with him and would never _dare_ say something to him like that, for danger that they might get called a freak by his stalkers, Kelsey and Danielle. But then again, I suppose you could just, break their fingers or something! Oh, and I'm Luke. Lucas Tyrell. I'm the schools star actor and, as nerdy as that sounds, I'm actually pretty cool." He assured me.

I instantly liked him-as a friend-despite him being one of Paul's mates. He seemed really friendly and quite sane. He dropped my hand and I put it in front of the other guy-the one with the dark hair and stormy eyes. He had quite a nice smile too.

"Hey Suze. I'm Kieran Knight, the schools star swimmer; although it probably would've been Paul if he hadn't been too worried about the chemicals damaging his hair." I looked over at Paul with a questioning look, freaked out by the fact that he and I had something in common, other than shifting. He nodded uncomfortably and I chuckled as did Kieran. "Anyway, yeah, Luke said pretty much everything I was gonna say. Welcome to the school!" he finished.

When Paul thought I wasn't looking he shot Kieran a dirty look and I spun around, smirking at Paul instead of the opposite way round this time. "Now, now, Paul. Calm yourself and be nice otherwise you'll have to have a time out. Now, apologise to Mr Knight." He muttered something under his breath and I asked him to repeat it.

"God would you just go? You're so flipping annoying!" and he stalked off, pulling me along by my wrist.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Paul let go! You're hurting me! Get off!" I moaned. He finally seemed to register the fact that my hand was going an odd colour from lack of circulation.

"Suze! Oh god, sorry! I, well... lost my temper. Apparently, it's easier to lose it than an ordinary human." He took my hand in his and I pulled away. I told him I was hungry and he pointed out that I had no idea where to go for food.

"Oh well, Suze. I guess I can just give up a bit of my incredibly valuable time to help you. You seriously have no clue how many girls would kill to be in your position. I mean, you have the smartest, non-nerdy, sportiest, most awesome looking guy in the whole school, willing to do whatever for you; absolutely anything." He grinned, pretending to be completely innocent.

Finger on chin, I pretended to be thinking about something I could make him do. "Well, now that you mention it, I am getting a bit tired of walking around."

He flashed his pearly white teeth before bowing like a knight and... Carrying me off down the hall, wedding style.

"Ah! Paul! What the hell are you...? Put me down!" he stopped, pretended to think and leaned over me sinisterly.

"No." He whispered and burst out laughing. I knew he was only joking around, but then, why did the fact that he was carrying me _wedding _style make my heart pound really, really fast? I joined in laughing, before my stomach growled really loudly- not to mention embarrassingly! "What the hell was that?" he asked seriously, not yet realising that it was my stomach.

I blanched and quickly mumbled, "Uh... nothing." But by then he had figured out that it was me.

"Suze was that... was that your stomach?" his eyebrows were raised and his eyes wide. I looked down and muttered, "... maybe." Before he burst out laughing-again-and he flicked my stomach. You know, he had a really nice laugh...

"Come on Suze. Let's go get you some food." He snickered in good humour. I poked him in the side of the head and said, "Put me down."

"Nah, I think I quite like the seating arrangements." _What? _That was what he said in the dream! I mean the nightmare...

"Paul, did you just-?" I broke off, realising I would sound like a psycho if I started babbling about dreams. "Did you just... hear that? It sounded like a... lion." I said lamely. He looked at me like I was crazy- which I probably am.

"A lion? In the middle of Seattle? Suze are you-? No you aren't crazy, just... different." he stated.

When we arrived at the lunch hall, I looked around, wide eyed. Wow...!

This school must have been good. Even the geeks had expensive clothing like Prada! I looked down at myself nervously and fingered my top. I hadn't noticed but I was still firmly encased in Paul's arms, so I cleared my throat and he looked down at me. Realising what I wanted, he put me down, but not before two girls who could have been Kelly and Debbie from an alternate universe saw me.

"Don't worry Suze. You look amazing. I bet you half of their stuff isn't real Prada." He winked at me, again seeming to know what I was thinking. Freaky...

"Should we, uh, sit down?" I suggested nervously. He nodded and led me over to a table with seven chairs, five of which people were already sat in. Thankfully, I already knew three of them. Paul sat down and pulled me down next to him.

"Hey Suze." Luke greeted me first with a smile. "Hey Luke, hey Kieran, hey Callum." I said to the three. Paul did the same and noticed my gaze on the other two.

It was a girl and a boy: the girl looked friendly enough and she had dark blonde hair-definitely natural-and blue eyes. She was wearing makeup but didn't look like she was obsessed with it or anything.

The boy had _really _nice mahogany brown eyes and black hair. His hair looked shiny and soft. He definitely looked pretty good. The girl and he were clearly together, yet I noticed he was _still _checking me out.

"Max, Rose, this is Suze Simon. She's new here, so be nice or I'll grind your bones and all that jazz." He threatened playfully. The girl looked a little sad, but cheered up as soon as she saw that I'd noticed.

"Hi Suze. I'm Rose Picket and this is my boyfriend, Maxwell Team, but we just call him Max." She swatted him playfully in the head. Then she looked at Paul and I before questioning, "So have you two met before?" she wasn't jealous or anything, just making friendly conversation.

"Yeah, Suze and I had a thing in the summer. Actually, we still have haven't we?" he said turning to face me.

Suddenly, just like outside before, I knew I didn't want to say it but for some reason my lips wouldn't listen to my brain- and before you even suggest it, it wasn't because my lips were listening to my heart of any other cheesy crud like that.

"Yeah, Paul and I went out in the summer a few times and we still do now, right Paul?" I smiled, completely against my will.

What was happening? Why couldn't I order my brain what to do? Why couldn't I... form... coherent... thoughts...?

I blacked out.

Paul's P.O.V

"Yeah, Paul and I went out in the summer a few times and we still do now, right Paul?" her beautiful voice floated through the air, speaking some of the words I had always wanted her to say. I nodded, still looking at her gorgeous face. She looked confused, blinked a few times and slumped onto my shoulder... UNCONSCIOUS?

"Suze, are you alright? Are you awake? Can you hear me?" Okay I admit it, I panicked. I turned my body around to face her properly, and she fell onto my lap, still out of it. She was still breathing, but only just. I scooped her up, not having time to marvel at her natural beauty, and called her brother who was sitting a few tables away, with some jocks.

"Ackerman, your sister's fainted. What should I do?" I asked quickly. He spun around to face me, panic dominant on his features.

"Damn, mom and dad are sooooooo gonna kill me! Where's the nurse's office?" he hopped off of his chair, clumsily, and followed me, to the nurse.

As I jogged I looked at Suze and saw that she was pale. Her head lolled back over my arm and her hair was draped over one shoulder.

"Slater, stop staring at my sister: you're creeping me out!"

I looked over at him and shrugged, picking up the pace. He looked at Suze and I felt a little bad.

If the reason she fainted was because of what I think made faint, then she would probably kill me when she woke up- which should be about another half an hour.

Finally, we arrived at the nurse's office. Brad walked in and told her what was wrong and she came rushing out to help.

"Oh, good gracious! Boys, what happened?"

"Well, we were eating our lunch, talking, and then she just fell face first into my shoulder." I knew when it was, but wasn't going to tell the nurse. She would probably have sent me to an asylum!

"Has this happened before? Is she on any medication or drugs of any kind?"

"Hey! My sister is _not_ a junkie! And no, this has never happened as far as I know of." Brad roared, before calming down.

"Maybe she just got nervous or something_. _She is new here and we're a scary lot. She did go kind of pale when we walked into the cafeteria." A lie but whatever.

The nurse looked a little more relaxed at that and said that was perfectly understandable.

"Thank you boys. You should get back to class now. I will send someone to get you if anything happens and when she wakes up. Now off you go."

Brad looked really annoyed and it was actually a pretty funny site to see. He stormed out of the room, but I just stayed sat with her, on the end of the bed. Brad noticed this after a couple of seconds and looked at me expectantly.

"Sorry man, I've been given permission by the deputy head to stay with your sister all day. Now off you go." I said with fake sympathy for him. He was practically foaming at the mouth! He was livid, but left anyway.


	6. Demon Paulie!

**A/N: Ok, don't have much time so only doing 3 updates in a row this time... SORRY! **

**Rock The Rain: YOU'RE BACK! My faithful reviewer! Deary me, have I missed you! I'm updating as quick as I can while beta-ing but reading everthing through is taking a while... Anyways, glad to hear from you again!**

**DISCLAIMED.**

Demon Pauli!

Paul's P.O.V

Half an hour had been and gone, but Suze was still out cold. The nurse had left to have her lunch and it was just the two of us in the room.

"Suze? Suze, can you hear me?" I whispered. I was getting worried. When people have their mind penetrated, they usually get a bit tired, but they don't actually _faint! _And stop looking at me like that! She would've embarrassed me if I didn't, and they would've thought she was lying anyway. After all, I _am_ Paul Slater, the most amazing being around: live, dead, mortal or otherwise.

I decided to try to wake her up Fairy tale style. _I gazethed down, upon her divine face. Oh what a wonderful face it was! T'was as beautiful a maiden as there ever will be!_

Ha! Okay, okay, I didn't actually do that. Instead, I leaned down to gently graze her lips with my own, and murmured, "Please wake up."

I heard her moan, but nothing more, so I went all Prince Charming, and tried to wake her up with another, more powerful, kiss. I began to pull away, only to find that I... couldn't? My eyes flew open and I saw Suze gazing at me in a manner that can only be called, well, loving.

Except she didn't love me. I already knew that. Unless...

Oh god! What if something went wrong when I tried the brain control? What if when I ordered her to tell the others we go out, I actually did some wacked out thing wrong and like, made her think she went out with me?

Of course, I'd be over the moon if she did, except that, I would feel _majorly _guilty and if Suze ever snapped out of it then she'd kick my butt to England!

Ah well Slater, may as well enjoy it while it lasts. The reason I couldn't move was because she had snaked her arms around my neck and- how had I not noticed? - knotted her fingers into my hair.

All I could think to myself was: I'mkissingSuzeSimon, I'mkissingSuzeSimon, and I'mkissingSuzeSimon!

She smiled and gently pulled her lips back up to mine. She moaned and I pulled her onto my lap, tickling her sides slightly; something told me she would like that. She giggled softly as I moved my mouth to her forehead and began leaving a trail of kisses all the way down her face, to her chin.

She muttered something in approval as her eyelids fluttered closed. Everywhere her body made contact with mine; there were little sparks, like electric shocks, just not painful. What was painful, however, was the realisation that when this was over, I'd be in England. _Damn! _

After a good 10 minutes-well, actually a great 10 minutes, but that's not exactly what I meant-I pulled away, and was very glad to find that she tried to pull my head back and pouted when I refused.

Oh, God, you've no idea how much I wanted to take her up on that, especially with her adorable puppy dog face, but I knew I shouldn't.

"Suze, you were unconscious for an hour, so I think you should wake up first." I reasoned.

She looked around, as though only just realising where we were. Recognition dawned on her face and I braced myself for the worst. "Paul! What happened? In the cafeteria, I started saying stuff without meaning to or wanting to, and it was... because..." she trailed off, her confusion switching to irritated anger. "What did you do to me!" she shrieked. I noticed with horror that her hands were shaking and she had _actual _tears in her eyes.

Suze's P.O.V-

Oh god! Why? Why did I kiss him back? Me and Jesse had finally admitted to each other that we had feelings, so why? If I really loved him-which I did...-then I would've stayed true to him! I would have loved to blame it on the weird thing that happened at lunch, but it really wasn't that.

Instead of focusing on what I had done wrong, I decided to focus on what Paul had done: I was sure that it was his fault.

"Paul! What happened? In the cafeteria, I started saying stuff without meaning to, and it was... because..." I trailed off, wondering what to say, when I finally got it into my head that Paul practically put me under the freakin _imperius curse! _"What did you do to me!" I shrieked.

He looked horrified (probably because of my ugly face and bed head from being unconscious) and said in a low, regretful voice, "Oh, Suze... please don't cry! I can explain what happened, tonight when we have our lesson! Oh, Suze... please stop shaking!" he pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed my eyes with it, looking hurt.

Wait, I wasn't crying! I shoved his hand out the way and furiously wiped my eyes and looked down. My tears made the view of my tears fuzzy and that's when I realised I was crying. God, I wish I would stop doing that!

Well, at least I wasn't making any of those weird noises people sometimes make. I was so out of it, that when Paul carried on dabbing my tears away, I didn't object.

Actually, it felt quite nice, sat there on Paul's knee, my head on his shoulder, and listening to the steady beat of his heart...

Oh, god! What was I on? A thought flashed through my head, and I instantly felt tired again. Additionally, it was the same feeling as before, when it felt like the thoughts weren't my own.

_Jesse will never have a heartbeat, because he's dead._

A pounding feeling flew through my head and I felt woozy.

"Paul I don't-"I began to say, before...

Throwing up all over his legs. However, instead of being disgusted and angry with me for ruining his trousers, he calmly pulled my hair up and held onto it to keep it from getting all icky. He murmured words of comfort against my hair, like, "It's alright. It's okay. It's only a bit of sick. Don't keep it in." And stuff like that.

As much as I didn't really like the guy at the time, I was really quite grateful that it was him there: had it been Brad there with me, he would've been too disgusted to care about my health.

After about ten minutes, I was done. Paul carried on holding me and I suggested he call the nurse so we could both leave- me, because I still felt disgusting, him because he needed a shower, real bad!

He went to get off, when there was a soft tap on the door. Paul called for them to come in and we saw the nurse.

"Oh, goodness! Are you both okay? I think we'd best get the both of you home!" the nurse cried.

Me and Paul nodded and left to find Brad.

"Oh no, Brad will have to take me home! That means he's gonna have to miss the rest of the school day!" I fretted, frowning.

Paul smiled slightly, but not in a bad way, just in an '_oh my God, I can't believe the girl I want to go out with is such a ditz' _kind of way.

"Awwwww, Suze! You aren't a ditz! And I can take you home." I nodded, vaguely aware that there was something wrong with that sentence, but another pang of tiredness. "Thank you Paul." I said sincerely. "Let's go tell Brad where I'm going."

"Excuse me, Mr Brighouse. May we borrow Brad Ackerman for a moment please? We should only be a minute or two." Paul sounded so good when he was all business-like...

"Why of course Mr Slater and Miss, uh..."

"Miss Suze Simon." Paul informed him.

"Ah, yes. Miss Simon." He smiled warmly at us both and I knew he would be a little like Mr Walden. Brad walked up to us and looked concerned. We closed the door behind us and began to speak with Brad.

"Brad, I'm gonna take Suze home. She threw up all over me so she needs to go in case it happens again. I have to go home to get a shower." He said indicating to his trousers.

I got a surprise when he slowly began to shake his head and say, "No. She's not going anywhere with you Slater. You did something to her and Jesse, so I don't want her with you." He took my hand and began to pull me down the hall.

I was really pleased and everything, but I sort of wanted him to tell me what was going on. Paul looked defiant and I stopped walking.

"Paul, stay there. Brad, I need to speak with you." Paul looked a little irritated that I was ordering him around, but when he realised I wasn't telling him to get lost, cheered up and said cheerily, "Anything for you Suze!" before whistling the boy does nothing, which was sort of ironic considering what he had just said.

"Brad, it's okay. We've... well, we've cleared stuff up. It was just a misunderstanding, the thing that happened with me- although he still isn't a big fan on Jesse, but whatever. I think he's really sorry about what happened. He was totally cool about everything: ya know, me throwing up over him, making him miss his lunch, showing me around the school." He considered what I said for a moment before sighing.

"Well, okay, if you really think it'll be okay. But I still don't trust him. And the being nice? Yeah, it's pretty obvious he's got the hot's for ya Suze." He laughed at me out raged expression, and added, "Don't deny it: he's interested. You can go home with him, but if we haven't heard from you by four, then I'm buying a gun. Got it?" I nodded, pretending to be serious, before we both smiled and chuckled. He told me to be careful and went back to class.

"Nice car." I complemented. I had decided I would try to be nice to Paul, as we were pretty much even. He grinned and we both climbed in. His car was a shiny BMW with comfy-although rather squeaky-leather interior. He put the keys in the ignition and we were off.

"So Suze, where do you live?" Paul asked.

"What?" I demanded hotly.

"I said where do you live? I need to take you home-although, if you want to come back to mine, that's perfectly okay."

I shot him an annoyed look before telling him I would walk home from his house. He told me not to be immature, so I stuck my tongue out. He sighed and I asked if I could turn the CD player.

"Yeah sure, but beware, you may not like the music." I shrugged and turned it on.

Suddenly, Limp Bizkit's _Behind Blue Eyes _came blaring out of the speakers. Well, how appropriate.

"As odd as this may sound... I actually love this song." I admitted, my face going a little bit red. He laughed, agreed that it's a great song, and we continued to listen to the lyrics.

'No one knows what it's like

To be the bad man

To be the sad man

Behind blue eyes.'

I turned it down and looked at Paul. "So... is this the song you listen to when you're feeling misunderstood?"

He laughed again and I took the time to study his features. His face really was perfect. Absolutely no imperfections at all! His nose was strong and looked good despite having been broken a little while age-courtesy of Jesse-and his eyes were such an amazing blue, you could almost feel yourself getting sucked into them.

He kept his eyes on the road and said, "Stop it."

"Stop what?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Stop... doing that. Starring at me and comparing me in your head." He answered.

"What? I... all I'm doing is looking out the window. And I'm not comparing you to anyone!" I answered back.

He sighed and said, "Don't tell lies, Suze. I can feel your gaze practically burning a hole in my face. And you're comparing me to De Silva, I can feel it: shifter's intuition. Now stop... you're making me feel insecure!" he admitted.

I gaped up at him. "Paul, I'm fairly sure it's impossible to feel someone looking at you; you're probably just paranoid or something." I retorted before quickly adding, "And I think you mean women's intuition, not shifters intuition." I smirked at Paul.

Although I had spoken quietly, he seemed to have heard me, and looked mighty irritated. "Whatever Simon. Just cut it out!" I shut my gob and we drove in silence. I passed the time by contemplating what I had done in the day and all the weird stuff.

Starting with the fact that I kissed him... and more importantly, that I wanted to do it again.

Oh man... I'm in trouble! I think for now, I'm just gonna blame it on the being-out-cold thing. I think that's a pretty good reason. I suddenly leapt out of my seat (I wasn't wearing a seatbelt) and shouted, "Hey! How the hell do you know where I live?"

We were parked outside the mansion behind my house and Paul was opening his door.

"What do you mean? Suze, I live here." He replied speaking as if to a five year old. I gaped up at him; my eyes wide.

"_What?" _I demanded hotly. He repeated himself looking confused. I jumped out of the car and said, "I need to get home." Hoping he wouldn't realise that I now lived next door to him.

Unfortunately, he was really smart- like, as smart as CeeCee.

"What? You live there now? You're kidding me! Oh my God, this is... well, you don't need to know how great this is, but it's _pretty _sweet!" he was grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. I smacked myself on the forehead and moaned.

"Why do you hate me so, God?" Paul smirked and replied,

"Oh, he doesn't hate you. He's sent you me; how could he hate you if he's done something like that?" I... growled at him.

Oh come on! He deserved it! "Paul Slater, you are an arrogant jerk and if you think you're worthy of any more of my attention, you're an even bigger idiot than I already thought!" he looked hurt.

The only reason I was saying that was because I was mad at myself: for kissing him, for making myself look like an idiot and, most of all, the potential hurt I had put on Jesse when kissing Paul. Imagine if he had materialised right then! He would be all like, _hey Querida, how're you? _And I would just be like, _oh Paul; you're such a brilliant kisser! _

Wait! I didn't think that! "Paul! Did you just..." I trailed off as I saw the three ghosties strolling towards us. I'd have to ask him later.

"Suze! Hey, you look kind of... pale. Been spending too much time with the ghosties or something?" Sam joked. I looked over to the three.

"Hey Sam, hey Matt, hey Zack. Nah, I just threw up all over Paul is all. I'm okay now though." They smiled and Paul nodded at them in greeting.

"Wait! Paul... you can see us?" Zack was dumbfounded.

"Yeah... I can. Hey guys. How you doing?" he smiled sheepishly and Zack ran up to him and got him in a massive guy-hug. You know the ones: where they hug them really, really tightly and still manage not to look gay; not that there's anything wrong with gays! I was just saying. I felt another pang of tiredness, although nowhere near as strongly as earlier and a voice in my head-I could recognise it now from hearing it so much- said, "_Suze, stop mental babbling! You're giving me a headache!"_

I gazed at him, confused, silently asking him to give me an answer. The word _later _flashed though my head and I looked back to the ghosts, shaking my head.

"Dude, why didn't you tell us this? When we were alive, I mean." Zack asked, grinning. I noticed he looked a lot happier and less scary now. He even seemed, well... nice. And excited; very, very excited. Paul looked at him like he was crazy.

"Tell you? Dude, if I had told you, you would've said I was either insane, or heavily intoxicated." He replied, laughing. Zack shrugged and the other two boys looked at Paul and finally spoke.

"Hey Paul. How's school going?"

Paul smiled and said, "It's great thanks; I've got Suze to keep me company now." I thought I saw a hint of anger flash through Matt's eyes, but I quickly dismissed it as nothing.

"So... you two go out?" Sam asked, conversationally. I shot Paul a dangerous look, remembering what I was fairly certain he had made me do at lunch. He smirked but put his hands up in an I-surrender-please-don't-shoot sort of way.

"We did _once _in the summer, but we don't anymore. Actually, my _boyfriend-' _I relished the way the word glided off of my tongue and shot Paul a snooty look'-is a ghost."

The three boys looked at me in astonishment; Paul just looked grossed out.

"You... you date a ghost? How?" Sam asked, incredulous.

I shrugged and replied, "Well... dating a ghost-to me, anyway-is exactly the same as a human: we can still speak to each other, we can still watch movies together and, yes, we can still kiss. Remember, to me, ghosts are pretty much... well, alive." Paul made gagging noises when I said we kissed but the other boys didn't seem quite so disgusted.

Sam went to say something else, but Paul cut him off.

"God, Suze! How the hell can you wanna go out with him, but not me? I mean, he's freakin dead!"

The three boys all exclaimed, "Hey!" and I couldn't help but notice, Matt said it a little louder than the others; looked a little angrier, too.

When I first met the ghosts, I had believed that Zack was the one not to be messed with, I had assumed Matt was in second and that Sam was the harmless one. However, when Sam and Zack began to argue, I had believed Matthew was the nice one and that I had just over-reacted, you know?

But now, I felt as though all three of them could be dangerous, but would all be angered by different things.

"Shut up, boys. This is between me and Suze." Paul whispered dangerously, before making them fly back by waving is hand.

He laughed humourlessly and as the boys tried to regain their balance, they immediately disappeared; no, I don't mean they dematerialized, they actually _disappeared! _

You see, when a ghost materializes/dematerializes, they go with like, this cocoon of crystal blue light pooling around them; this time, they simply vanished.

I looked at Paul, shocked and suddenly a little scared again. I thought I had gotten over the scared of Paul thing, but it seemed to have returned, full force, the fear of what he could do to me... what he could do to Jesse.

I tried to quietly back away (His back was to me, so he couldn't see me) but ever the graceful princess I am, I fell on my butt with a loud _`oomph!'_

Paul rotated slowly to face me, grinning like the psycho he is. He stalked over to me, still grinning, and said, "Suze."

That's all. Just my name. Did you know someone's name can be the most successful way of getting through to them? Nah, me neither. Doc told me when I revealed to him that I wanted to be a psychiatrist when I was older.

I shrieked. Yes, yes, I am aware of how stupid that was. It was very, very, very stupid, and looking back on it, I am incredibly ashamed. I looked into his eyes and saw... well, black.

Yes, you read correctly. His eyes were black; his once, beautifully blue eyes had turned inky.

Wait! Did I just call his eyes beautiful? Eurrrgh!

"Paul..." I said shakily. I had a weird feeling I wouldn't be able to talk to him properly unless he returned to his normal state. "Paul... Stop it. This isn't you. You're nice and you hate seeing me scared. I know you do. Now please, listen to me; I want to go home. You need to calm down and call the ghosts back and you need to send them to me. Okay?" I commanded sternly.

I know I seemed really brave, but in reality, I was shaking in my boots; thankfully, not visibly, so demon-Paul had no idea.

His eyes clouded over as he stared at me, and suddenly, they turned bright-white and returned to normal. Paul stumbled back and landed on his butt.

"Suze? What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be at home, resting. Come on, I'll take you. We don't want you getting any worse now do we? Oh! Hang on! I forgot to get you something!" he ran back into his house and I stared after him, dumbfounded.

_What the hell just happened?_


	7. Ben and Jerry's and the explanation

**A/N: DISCLAIMED. And that is all.**

Ben and Jerri's and the explanation!

Paul returned a second later, holding...

A tub of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and a spoon.

"I'm back. Thought you might appreciate a tub of ice cream. What happened to you is nasty- I should know: I've got first-hand experience of it." he smiled sheepishly as though he were embarrassed about something. What had happened? A minute ago he had been insane; scary; mean. But now he was being super sweet and nice? Almost, well... a modern version of Jesse!

"Suze, are you okay? Are you alright Suze?" Paul was lightly tapping my shoulder looking concerned. As a reflex reaction, I cringed away. He looked confused and hurt that I did that, but didn't try to touch me again.

"What's wrong Suze? Why are you being so... different?" I gaped up at him, astonished that he would dare brush the whole thing that had just happened off. Unless maybe he wasn't ignoring it, he had just... forgotten it?

"Paul, don't you remember? What just happened, I mean?" Instantly, his irises (which had turned white-silver) returned to their normal sapphire blue.

He blinked, cleared his throat, and spoke softly, "I should get you home now. The school probably rang your mom and she'll be worried if you don't get home soon. I'm really sorry about what happened, Suze, but I'll have to explain later. I can give you a ring after I've been to sleep." I looked at him, disbelieving, a little bit angry and confused. Again, he spoke in that soft voice- almost as soft as Tad Beaumont's I compared.

"Again, Suze, I promise you I will tell you what happened later. And I'm sorry. I promise I won't do that again."

Not too sure whether to be sceptical or believing, I just shrugged and began the short walk across the meadow separating out two houses. I heard him sigh, a few footsteps and a door shut softly, then I knew he was gone.

Immediately, three voices shouted my name. The ghosts were back.

"Suze! Oh my God, are you okay? What did he do to you? Are you hurt? Scared? Should we do something? Kick his butt to England?" Matthew appeared beside me.

"Hey guys. I'm okay thanks, just a little confused. It's you boys that should be worried, not me. He wouldn't do all that much to me and even if he did, my shifting powers would probably stop the worst of the damage. What did he do to you? Where did you go?" I questioned.

They all glanced back up at the mansion, before replying in unison, "We've got no idea."

"It was just like, one minute, we were there with you, and then suddenly, we were thrown back. After that, we disappeared back to some forest, but all the trees were black and silver; it was way creepy. A few minutes passed until we just re-appeared here, with you." Sam explained.

"Yeah, Suze, it was way weird. When we were talking to Paul at first, he was giving off this really nice vibe, because he was excited that we were still here. Then, when we were speaking to you about your boyfriend, he turned kinda hostile." Matt added.

"But when Matt started seeming jealous, Paul turned... sinister. As in, kill us all over again, sinister." Zack finished.

I gulped ignoring the bickering that had begun to take place between Matt and Zack. Deciding Sam was probably the most sensible and mature one at that point between the three of them, I turned to face him directly.

"Did anyone get hurt?" I asked him seriously.

He shook his head assuring me nothing happened. I looked over to my new `home` and saw mom waving frantically. Thankfully, she was too far away to notice my lips moving. I quietly told the boys I would speak to them in a little while and that I just had to talk to my mom, as she was probably worried.

I slumped over to her and she was all over me instantly.

"Oh, Susie baby! Are you okay? The school rang me a couple of minutes ago! They told me you fainted, and that you threw up! And they said you had arranged your own way home when I asked if I should pick you up! You didn't disturb Brad did you? It is his first day honey. And who was that boy you were just with?"

...wow.

Well at least we know which of my parents I got the speed talking thing from. I stifled a laugh and answered her, slowly.

"Mom, everything's okay. Calm down! Brad's still at school. I got a ride from Paul Slater, because he had to go home too. I kinda... uh... threw up over him in the nurse's office..."

Mom blinked. Twice. Three times.

"You were _sick _over him? And he still didn't mind taking you home?" she raised her eyebrows and a feeling of relief rushed over me: I had been afraid she would be mad at me for getting a ride home with him.

I nodded and she added, "Why did you throw up? Or what did the nurse think?"

"Well, the nurse thinks it might have been nerves or something. She said I didn't look at all ill, just a little pale." I explained. I then quietly murmured, "Although Paul thinks I fainted from seeing his _lovely _face again..."

I hadn't intended for her to notice I had said anything else, but unfortunately, she had.

"What was that last bit Suze?" she asked, seemingly innocent.

"... Nothing..."

"Ah but Suze, if it was nothing, you wouldn't have said it. Now tell me!" I knew she was still mucking around, but I answered in case she thought I had said something about a new gang.

"I said, Paul-the boy who gave me the lift home-thinks it's because I saw him." She looked at me and burst out laughing.

"Oh, baby, he likes you don't he. And you like him too, don't you." She said it as a question, but meant it as a statement.

"What?" I demanded ,"I do not! Paul Slater is an obnoxious, rich boy who only cares about himself! I most certainly _don't _fancy him!"

She smirked, and corrected me, "Oh, no. He isn't just some rich boy who only cares about himself: he's an _incredibly good looking _rich boy, who cares about other people as well as himself- well you at least- and has a _huge _crush on you. I'm not silly Suze, I know these things. Mothers intuition."

"Well, fine, I admit he does look, uh... acceptable, but I still don't like him. He's the one from the summer, so don't bother saying I should `get to know him` or anything, because believe me I did, and I don't like him."

She shrugged and said, "Whatever floats your boat Simon. But I know you like him... now come on, you should come in. And brush your teeth!"

We walked in and I heard soft laughter behind me. The ghosts were still there.

"So boys. Do you remember anything else? About... the party, I mean." They all looked at me, clearly meaning, _and how would we have figured anything else out?_

"So, I'll take that as a no," awkward...

They were all lounging on the bottom of my bed and I was perched on the pillows. We were trying to figure out who it could have been and I had thought of something I really needed to ask them about- but it was making me _really _nervous.

"Zack? I, uh, kinda have a question, that I think is pretty important. But I have a funny little feeling you aren't going to be too happy about answering it, so if you don't want to, you don't _need _to, but it'd really make things easier and mean you can move on a lot faster." Oops. I babbled again.

Somehow, he had deciphered what I had said, and was looking me over, scanning me for something. He then looked at the other two and, before he had a chance to answer, Sam spoke for him.

"Of course he'll answer. If it leads the police to the killer, or gets us any closer to the answer, then he won't mind."

I nodded and cautiously asked what had been bugging me since lunch.

"You know your ex-girlfriend? Well, you said her first name was Rose... what was her last?"

Taking a deep breath, Zack breathed, "Picket. Rose Picket."

"Okay... and Max's?" I gulped as his look darkened further.

"Team. _Maxwell Team." _He spat out, his face contorted with the effort of not making the objects in my room shatter. Sam laid a hand on his shoulder and told him to calm down before he hurt someone. Snapping out of his kill-Maxwell-Team trance, he blinked and relaxed his face.

"Okay, thanks Zack. It's just, I met them at school today, and I just... needed to know. How's about I keep an eye on them for you? Maybe if you want, one of you can come with me."

Zack's lips tilted up a little on one side. "Thank you, Suze, but I don't think I'd be able to keep my temper. Why don't you take Matthew? He seems to be best at controlling his powers, so he can make sure no pieces of roof, uh... _accidentally _smoosh Team..." he grinned, and I noticed how much nicer his face looked when he was happy than when he was miserable.

Laughing, I agreed, "That'd be a great idea. Matty? What d'ya think?"

He nodded eagerly and, thinking he must look ridiculous, said, "It beats sitting around with those two all day."

I told them I'd call them in the morning and they dematerialized, still chuckling.

It was four o'clock and I was still just sitting in my room, all alone, doing nothing.

_I didn't hear what you were saying,_

_U live on raw emotion baby,_

_I answer questions never maybe,_

_And I'm not kind if you betray me_

"Hello?" I answered my phone after the fourth line of Maroon 5's wakeup call, my new ring tone.

"Hiya babe..." a deep creepy voice replied.

Sighing, I humoured him, "Oh no! A big bad man's on the phone! What should I do?"

"Chuckling he replied, "I really hope you don't call that amazing Mr Slater as he would kick my butt for speaking with you."

"Oh you're completely right! I sure do wish Perfect Paul were here. He could save me!" I falsely gushed.

He laughed and said, "Hey Suze."

Laughing as well, I replied, "Hey Paul. You still up for the shifting lesson?"

"Well, well, well. Looks like Miss Simon wants to spend time with Mr Slater. Sure Suze, anything for the future Mrs Slater."

"Don't flatter yourself Paul. And I'm not gonna marry you, okay? I just want to know why you... why were so... like you were..." I finished awkwardly.

Instantly sobering up, Paul said, "Oh, yeah, that. Suze, I swear, I have an explanation, but I can't tell you over the phone. I can tell you when you come round here, alright?"

Sceptical, I replied, "Promise you won't go psycho?" he agreed and apologised again and I told him to wait a second.

"Mom! Am I allowed to Paul's for an hour?" I bellowed down the stairs.

"Sure Susie!" she yelled back.

Pulling the phone back to my ear, I began, "Paul, mom said-"but he cut me off.

"Jees Simon, do you really need to shout that loud? I'm fairly sure your mom ain't deaf- although, due to your shouting, I might be! Do you want to come now? I have a lot to show you!"

Turning a little red, I answered, "Uh... sure. I can come now. Will your parents mind though?"

"Nah, they won't be... although, Jack might be a little bit jealous. Uh... Suze? Would you-"I heard him take a deep breath and wondered what was making him so nervous. I came to the conclusion it was bad, so I asked what was up. He carried on, "Do you... want to stay for dinner? I mean, it would give us longer to talk and there's so much I need to tell you- uh, about shifting I mean, not anything else! And I usually eat alone, so it would be nice to have some company and besides, the rare times my family and I do eat together it is always really awkward, and there's always-"

I burst out laughing and he shut up. "Paul-'uncontrollable fits of giggles'-shut up! Babbling is strictly my specialty! And if you're _that _desperate, then sure, I'll come!"

God! I never knew Paul had the ability to get nervous, especially not over me! I was really gonna have to use this on him one day... but seriously, he was hilarious!

He breathed out a long breath and I chuckled under my breath. He said that was great and we decided on having Chinese.

"I'll be over in a few. You had _better _behave, Slater!"

He too chuckled and promised, "I will, Suze. As long as you do! See you soon..." and with that, he put the phone down. Shaking my head, I grabbed a handbag and stuffed my blackberry in it.

When I got downstairs, I slowly walked to the kitchen, taking my time to admire the new decorations. In the kitchen I found who I was looking for.

"Hey Andy, would you mind if I miss dinner tonight? A... friend has invited me for Chinese." I paused, unsure of what to call Paul. Were we friends? Who knows...?

"Well... what friend? We only just moved here, Suze, surely you don't know anyone that well yet? Don't you think you should get to know them a bit better first?" he asked, worried.

"Nah, it's okay. I already know them- mom does too if you want to check with her!" I grinned in humour, remembering what mom had said outside, and pondering what she was going to say when I told her we were having dinner. No doubt she would take it the wrong way!

He scratched his chin, and finally spoke, "Okay then. What's their name?" I told him and he raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that the boy from Carmel? The one who took you to that fancy restraunt, the lone Cyprus? Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you invite him for Sunday dinner? I'm sure he'd love to come..." Andy grinned evilly. I knew what he was getting at, and I just shook my head.

"I'll think about it... tell mom I've left and I have my mobile. See you tonight."

"Bye honey,"

"Told you so..."

I shrieked. Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up. I was just heading out the back door, when mom whispered in my ear. "Mom!"

"Now, now Suze, calm down. But come on, all the signs point to it! he didn't care that you threw up on him, he gave you Ben and Jerry's-I wish Andy would do that...-he wants you to go hang at his for a bit and he wants you to have dinner!" insert mom raising her eyebrows.

"No, all that points to is that he likes me. Nothing there proves that I like him!" I stressed. She simply shook her head and told me fine, but we'd be speaking about it tomorrow.

FINALLY, I managed to leave, unstopped. Hahaha, when you say it like that it sounds like I've managed to escape prison or something. Coooooool...

Half way there, my phone indicated that I had a text. My phone didn't recognise the number but it was fairly easy to guess.

_Hurry up Suze! Your ghost pals are here and Matthew isn't too happy with me._

Breaking into a sprint, I arrived at Pauls pronto. Panicked at what the ghosts might do to Paul (or vice versa) I knocked loudly at the door and for a moment considered just going in, but Paul was instantly there letting me in. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs to an empty room. Well, empty except for the three angry looking ghosts.

As I rapidly scanned the room to assure there were no hidden exorcisms planned, I noticed things were shaking.

"Suze tell them! They think I'm gonna try and kill you or something, and that I made you come here!"

That's why they were angry? Because they were worried he was gonna hurt me? Awwwww, that's so cute! Well, that got rid of my peed off feeling with them.

I approached them and looked them all in the eye. "Guys, it's okay. Paul's gonna explain what happened, and why he did that. Since you left I swear he's been really nice. Paul would never hurt me and he just wants to help. I came here at my own will and if you want, you can stay for a bit so I can prove it."

As I said that, I realised it was probably true. Paul had so far; shown no homicidal tendencies and he seemed really intent on helping me learn.

They warily looked me up and down before Zack spoke, "So he hasn't blackmailed you into coming?" I shook my head.

Sam added, "And he's gonna tell you why he was acting so... different to normal?" I nodded. Both of their voices had been wary, cautious, and I could tell they were trying not to offend him. When Matthew spoke up, his voice was angry and disbelieving.

"Are you sure he'd never hurt you? Because I don't believe that. From what I saw earlier, he could-would-do some serious damage if you don't do what he says. Suze did ever think that maybe he was being nice to try and catch you off guard? Make you believe he was something he's not?" I sighed and shook my head. Walking over to one of the leather armchairs in the room, I gently but firmly took a hold of Matthews wrist and pulled him down next to me on the sofa.

"Matthew, look, I... I'm really glad you're being so nice and looking out for me, but I can do that myself. When I got this ability to see ghosts, I got a few extra things with it. I get really cool strength, really awesome reflexes and I'm almost indestructible. In the summer my boyfriend's ex-fiancée and her husband pushed me off of my roof, into a six foot deep hole, and all I got was a headache. I also got this cool thing, called shifters intuition, meaning I know when something good or bad is gonna happen, and I know who to trust- this intuition is telling me to trust Paul. Okay?" his look softened at my touch and the anger dissipated.

Taking a deep breath, he replied, "Okay, Suze. If you trust him... then so do I." He stood up and went back over to Sam and Zack.

"Sorry Man." Zack said to Paul with a shrug.

"Yeah sorry." Sam added with a grimace and a nod.

"Sorry..." Matthew mumbled as they all dematerialised.

Paul gulped and turned to face me. He looked a bit nervous, which was unusual. I mean, before he had asked me to come round for dinner, I didn't think it was possible for him. Deciding to try and make conversation to calm him down-nervous Paul was making me uncomfortable-I asked a question.

"Sooooooo... what is this place? The room I mean. It can't be your bedroom, there's no bed." He was still staring off into nothingness and I blushed. "Paul? Are you okay? Should I, uh, leave?" I questioned awkwardly.

He blinked and snapped his head back to face me. "Sorry Suze. I was... daydreaming. I'm fine, you don't need to leave me- uh, I mean leave!" he amended.

Curiouser, and Curiouser...

"This is my den. It's where I come to chill and just hang out. The rooms also sound proof." He grinned.

"Ha-ha, Paul. Very nice." I replied sarcastically. "Should we start now? I'm sort of anxious to find out what the hell you meant this morning when you told me about that shifting thing- and what happened this afternoon! You were SERIOUSLY freaky! And your eyes..." I shuddered from the memory of his piercing black eyes.

He looked down ashamed at his previous behaviour. "I know Suze. And I'm sorry for scaring you, but it... well, it's difficult to explain and it may be confusing and it'll take ages to tell you about." He whispered. He sighed and sat down next to me on the sofa.

I visibly noticed how glum he had turned since I mentioned my being scared. It was as if he were feeling my pain as well. He sat leaning forward with his knees together, hands clasped on his lap.

"The reason we are called shifters," he began, "is because we can travel back and forth between the planes of existence. This is called shifting. To shift to purgatory, the place where the souls go once you exorcise them is okay if you're carful. There are a number of other things we can do like: mind reading, mind control, dream control, making ghosts relive their death and a number of other evil things. Shifting is okay, as long as you don't go too often, but when you start experimenting with other, darker things, then... it can sort of... bring out the worst in you. And that, Suze, is what happened to me."


	8. The first shifter lesson

**A/N: DISCLAIMED ONCE AGAIN!**

**Signing off with love,**

**-Fizii**

The first shifter lesson

I gasped, and quickly yelped, "I knew it!" as I leapt off the sofa and ran to the door. But, just to prove that bad luck/good luck thing I pointed out back in Carmel... it was locked.

Paul Slater had locked me in his den with him. And he had basically just _told _me he's evil!

He looked shocked, as though he hadn't been expecting that. Actually, he looked like he hadn't just admitted to me that he was evil, as if he were completely innocent.

"Suze? Calm down! What's wrong? Why are you so... panicky?" he phrased it carefully, sounding sincere. Pfft... Probably just an act.

"Let me out! I knew it, Paul! L-let me go! Unlock the doo-oo-or!" I moaned. I swear, I tried to keep my cool, but I was just unable to do so. I kept picturing his black eyes and wondering what, exactly, he had done, who he had done it to, and, most importantly at the current time, whether or not he was going to go it to me.

Then I remembered who I was – Suze Simon, kicking mediator. I drew in a sharp breath, pulled my fist up into the defence position and then exhaled, ready to stand up for myself.

He came to stand in front of me.

_Sit down, Suze. He must have a good reason for what he did. Let him explain, stay for dinner like originally planned, just relax and have a good time... _a voice in my head soothed. Hmmmm... That sounded good. I really was too tired to be much good at wrestling spawn of Satan, so maybe I should just do that.

It was only once I was sat on the sofa, right next to Paul, with my hands in his, my body facing him, that I realised he was the voice in my head.

I gasped in recognition at the feeling of drowsiness that claimed me, just as I went to tell Paul to get out of my head. I knew he was doing something, but I didn't figure out what until I tried to back off of the comfortable leather sofa- only to find I couldn't!

He was using his mind-like he had in the cafeteria-to make me stay completely still, except for blinking, breathing and shivering at his sudden proximity. His breath was brushing against my cheek, and it, well... I know it's crazy but... it felt quite... nice. All cosy like, ya know?

Yes, as a matter of fact, I DO know I must be a complete nut case. A few minutes ago, I was shrieking, moaning, wanting to be away from that house, away from _him._ But oh no, my brain has to go and get all messed up. It is just... illogical. It doesn't make even a slither of sense but it happened.

For a few moments I hoped it was just some shifter trick Paul was playing on me and wondered if he was gonna torture me by making me go crazy, because that's what I thought was going to happen if he didn't keep his warm, minty breath off of my face.

But no, alas, my shifter intuition was telling me this reaction was purely me, to which I was devastated. The guy had just revealed to me that he messed around with like, dark magic, and all I wanted to do was curl up on the squeaky leather sofa with him.

At the same time, though, my shifter instincts were telling me to let him speak and so I brought my attention back to him, and didn't bother attempting to break the curse-thing that wouldn't let me move. Ooooooh, look at that. How did I get up here? I thought to myself. I was perched on Paul's lap, his hand cupping my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. You know what I saw in them?

Pain.

He was greatly hurt by what I thought about him and the torture thing (he had been reading my thoughts, which I still found creepy and kinda rude). Also, sincerity, which made me obliged to accept his next request.

"Suze, please I can explain. I swear, I don't do that sort of thing anymore, and I'm not going to hurt you. Suze, I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to. I'd rather die than see you get hurt, so please, stay and let me explain. I'm sorry about scaring you when I... well, you know. And I'm sorry about everything else too! But really I regret ever doing any of those things that caused me to be like... that. Will you stay? Think your answer, I'll listen."

OH. MY. GOD! Did Paul Slater just say he'd die for me? HE DID! OH MY GOSH! He's so much sweeter than I thought! And cute too! Rare combination...

His face had been etched into a look of sadness and all negative emotions, but suddenly, his mouth tilted up at the sides. No, not at THE side, but on both sides. It wasn't a smirk, or a grin. It was an _actual _smile. He raised his eyebrows at me, chuckling a little, and I realised something: he had just heard my thoughts. My thinking about him being all sweet and stuff.

Instantly I blushed and thought 'okay, okay, I'll listen. Just... let me talk.'

"Sorry about the mind control thing. I thought you were going to leave."

"I understand... I think. So, please tell me _why _you felt so inclined to torture ghosts. And what you did to them. As well as whom you did it to. And no lying!"

He took a deep breath and then looked down at me. He looked sort of weird, before he said, "Would you mind moving? It's a little... distracting" he looked away and I remembered I was on his lap. Blushing I muttered a 'sorry' and moved to sit next to him.

"Okay, it basically started about seven or eight months ago, when this ghost came to me for help. As usual, I gave him the normal choice I gave ghosts: leave or be exorcised. The biker ghost left for a few days but then returned. I was in a good mood so I gave him another chance to leave and he did. Except that night, he came back while I was asleep. Thanks to my advanced senses, I woke up as soon as he arrived, but I wasn't quick enough in my half asleep state. He broke my nose and, I am horrifically embarrassed to admit, intimidated me a bit. Apparently, all he had wanted to do was cause me some damage, so he left, satisfied.

Once he was gone, I was so angry, I decided to exact revenge. I had given him a chance to stick around and that was how he repaid me? I sought out a curse that would bind him to eternal slavery, working for me, doing anything and everything I made him. It was all going well for a few days until I noticed that the power was going to my head. I then started to feel sort of bad, which I didn't like. After all, back then, I thought having emotion made you weaker, more vulnerable- which I guess it does." For the first time during all of his explanation, he smiled a genuinely warm smile. I knew what he was referring to (the I-would-rather-die-than-see-you-hurt thing) and I flushed as he carried on.

"Anyway, I made him tell me all about himself, but he refused. Frustrated and impatient, I conjured up this fiery whip thing- I will explain that another time if you want –and, well, whipped him with it until he gave me the information I needed. I discovered he'd been a good for nothing, murdering thief and all the guilt, the doubt, disappeared and I became infatuated with the idea that maybe that was why I had been given these powers. That perhaps it was actually my duty to punish the souls of sinners. And so, for the next month or so, I made all the ghosts who visited me tell me about their lives, deciding which punishments should be used on which sinners. If they hadn't sinned I simply exorcised them. After that first month was around the time I realised there were side effects to using all these horrible curses and the like. I was no longer really myself and I lashed out at the smallest thing. I became more violent and swore a lot more than I used to- basically, I turned terribly bad.

I tried my best not to use my powers like that anymore, and succeeded. I am now able to control my temper a lot better and my usual interests are returning- I have also gained emotions, which I didn't think I was capable of having till I went on holiday..." he smirked, but I was too astounded to slap him. I dimly registered that he changed mood a lot and wondered if was to do with what... what we had spoken about.

Oh my god.

This was just, too much to take in. I felt like I was gonna faint. Or start hyperventilating. This is what I did.

Start hyperventilating, I mean.

Paul's P.o.v-

I had just revealed everything to Suze and so far she had been quiet. I was beginning to worry she was just going to up and leave or shout at me and tell me I was a horrible human being and refuse to ever talk to me again.

"Suze? Please speak," I requested softly. She had a stunned look on her face and her eyes were glazed over. What is she was having a heart attack or something?

Nah, she wasn't. Although, she did start breathing really rapidly. A little freaked, I asked again, "Suze? Please speak. Are you okay? Suze?" She just carried on hyperventilating.

"Y-you actually used your p-powers to ens-slave g-ghosts?" she finally managed to squeak out. Her voice was so adorably squeaky, that for a moment, all I could do was grin like an idiot.

Until I realised what she had said. And why she was hyperventilating. She was scared and that was not good.

"Suze, I explained, it was all a mistake. I was angry and I acted rashly, only doing bad things to those who truly deserved it! All I did was balance out the natural order of things. Please though Suze I already told you, I don't do things like that anymore! Please Suze, look at it logically!" I begged.

Well, not literally, that'd be sad. But I was pretty close. Slowly she shook her head.

"No. No, you... you're lying! Y-you're just messing with my head! Stop it! I can't take it! You're lying, I know you are! You probably enslave ghosts all the time! You haven't changed at all!" She shrilled, leaping off the sofa. I made her stop, and she fell to the ground, shuddering in anticipation of what she thought was going to happen.

I read into her mind and the same four words were rushing through her head.

_He's gonna kill me, he's gonna kill me, he's gonna kill me!_

I ventured a little further and found what I was looking for.

_It's not the fact I'm about to die that makes me upset; it's the fact that I had been deceived by him so easily and so thoroughly. He said he would rather die than see me get hurt. How do I know he didn't mean he'd rather see ME die than get hurt?_

I felt well and truly pained. I was so pained in fact, that I didn't even register what her thoughts meant until later on that evening.

I scooped her up from the floor cradling her in my arms, with her head resting on my shoulder. Tears pooled in her eyes; her expression was one of true upset; fear.

"Shhhhhh. It's okay Suze; I don't want to hurt you." I muttered; she heard me.

'_You're lying! You want to kill me! You made me feel happy and then you took it away! Put me down! Don't TOUCH me!' _she mentally screeched at me.

"Suze, please! I wouldn't EVER want to hurt you. I care about you too much. Please, trust me! Listen to your shifter-instincts. They never fail." I advised.

_They're telling me... t-to trust you. But... they might be lying!_

"Suze, please, you wouldn't lie to yourself about your life would you? No, you wouldn't."

She seemed to consider this for a moment and I cautiously took the spell off her. She didn't go anywhere. She closed her eyes and I didn't invade her thoughts. That was only to be done in emergencies.

I carried her to the sofa and she laid across it, her head on my knees.

"Paul?" she murmured.

"Yes Suze?" I replied softly.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you." She whispered.

I smiled softly at the guilty look on her peaceful face, amazed at her compassion. "I understand,"

"Oh and I have a question. Do all the mind things make the other person tired? Like, when you read my mind, I feel tired, the same as when I call a ghost or when you used that weird power on me to make me really still." She questioned.

"Uh, yeah it can do. But that fades after a few days. Why are you sleepy?"

"A bit" she replied, stifling a yawn.

I laughed quietly and fingered her hair. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

I inwardly groaned, but nonetheless went to answer the door. In front of me, was a cowering Jack. "Yes Jack?" I asked politely. The polite thing was mainly because Suze was there, but also because recounting to her about my 'dark days' as I had called them, made a feel a little, well... guilty, about how I treated Jack. I knew she disapproved of me and Jack's behaviour towards each other, so there was no harm in appearing friendly.

"Wh-who was that g-girl? Sh-she looked familiar," he stuttered. The poor little coward.

Before I could answer, Suze was by my side, answering for me.

"Jack! Hi!" okay, that's unfair. How come she was so excited about seeing him and not me?

"Suze! I thought you lived in Carmel? Did Paul kidnap you?" he asked looking fearful. Weird kid... he propelled himself forward, crushing her in a hug. Alright, that's REALLY not fair! He gets a hug and not me? Pfft, little kid doesn't realise he's hugging an angel...

Suze's POV

Okay, apparently the Slater Iron Grip runs through the family. I couldn't breathe too well and I was starting to go light headed.

"It's okay Jack, I moved here. I live in that house over there." I pointed out the window to my new 'home'. I continued, "I'm here to talk to Paul- and he hasn't blackmailed, threatened or endangered my life in any way while I've been here. How are you going, anyway? With the ghosts I mean?"

He looked a little confused because I was actually spending time with Paul, _voluntarily. _"Oh, them. It's going great! I've helped loads of them move on- well, about five, but it hasn't been very long. It's really fun and none of them have tried to hurt me! There was a boy my age first, who died from Lou... Uh, Look-eem... uh, leukaemia!-'Awwwww, he's adorable!'-and then, there was this little girl, who wanted me to take her dolly home from the park in case it got lonely and there were some more too. They all moved on after I did what they asked."

I nodded and noticed Paul raising his eyebrows, seemingly to himself. I poked him and asked, "What?" he just shook his head and murmured "nothing".

"Hey Suze? Why did you look like you were dead when I walked in?" Jack asked suddenly. Oh, yeah. I had completely forgotten about the tired thing when Jack arrived. All my drowsiness had just... disappeared.

"Oh, I was tired and I didn't feel very well. Still got a bit of jet lag, I guess." What? Don't look at me like that! There was no way on Earth I was gonna tell Jack about what Paul and I had been discussing. I didn't want him getting any ideas... "Okay," he grinned and bounded out the room, much like an adorable little puppy dog.

Paul closed the door and I sat back down on the sofa. We still had ages until I needed to get home. He slowly rotated looking menacing, scaring me a little. I was a little worried that telling me all about the evil stuff he did had sparked something within him, making him go bad again.

"How come," he whispered dangerously," the little guy gets a hug and I don't?" his face cracked into a teasing grin as he sat beside me. I thwacked him round the head playful-yes, you read correctly, I was being _playful- _and laughing.

"Because he doesn't smell," I stated simply. He feigned a look of hurt.

"That wasn't very nice Simon. And you know what?" he leaned him face really close, only a few millimetres away from me, and I wondered what possible excuse I could use if I accidentally kissed him. I couldn't think of one. "You smell too!" he finished.

"I do NOT! Girls don't stink; it's a well-known fact." I stuck my chin in the air and flipped my hair back.

"Yeah well, that rule only applies if you're a girl. And... You're not." He smirked insufferably.

"What? I am too! You little... GRRRR!" I retorted lamely.

"Girls don't growl, Suzie Q. Therefore, you are not a girl."

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"Am too!" I yelled, standing up.

"Am too." He replied coolly.

"Are not!" I yelled, again, "Wait what the-? Hey! You made me mess the chain up!" he laughed at my outraged expression.

You can't just end the chain like that! It's just not done! It's like... blasphemy, or something!

"Too bad, Suze. You lose." He said in a sympathetic voice. I was just about to launch into a massive, boring speech about the importance of 'the chain' when I made that terrible noise I made at lunch time. You know, the stomach rumbling? Well, yeah, it happened again. Thankfully he didn't notice my red cheeks and so didn't realise-again-that I had made that sound.

"What was that? Again." He questioned.

"Uh, the lion?" I answered feebly. Oh, no, I had been wrong. He did know _exactly _what the noise was, and was just humouring me.

"Oh, yeah, him again. Come on, let's go order something. What do you want? I, personally, am in the mood for some Chinese, but you can pick." He sighed as he gently tugged me back up from the sofa.

"Chinese sounds good." My traitorous tummy howled again." I think my stomach agrees." He laughed. You know, in the past day, I had really come to like that sound. Err, his laughing, not my stomach that is.


	9. Dumped

**A/N: DISCLAIMED.**

Dumped

We both walked out of the room and I took some time to admire Paul's mansion while he ordered food. It all looked very fancy and posh- far more so than my new home. I stood there and began to feel a little awkward as I realised how different Paul's family was than my own. His had crystal chandeliers and oak doors, with fancy Greek signs. My own had a black metal gate, intertwined metal light shades and a few more average things. We both came from such different homes and as I stood there, I couldn't help but wonder why Paul seemed to like me so much.

Imagine if we started dating each other. If his parents found out, they'd probably turn their noses up at me and tell him if he didn't break it off with me to go out with some rich kid his father knew, or else they'd cut him off. Meaning like, money wise. Not like, chop his head off or anything, God no!

It was when Paul walked back in smiling that I thought to myself, _hello, Suze, what are you doing? You have a perfectly good boyfriend at home. What are you doing thinking about his worst enemy for?_

"It should be here in 10," Paul's voice drifted in through my ears as I internally scolded myself. I vaguely noticed Paul was pulling me somewhere, but all I could think about was how much I wished I was as rich as Paul so I could be as good as him. No, be good enough _for _him.

Uh, wait, no that just... slipped out. Forget I ever said that. I groaned and smacked myself on the head. Realising Paul didn't have a clue about my mental (emphasis on the mental) discussion, so to him it seemed as though I were just randomly smacking myself around the face.

"Are you alright?" no Paul, I'm an insane, crazy lady who needs a strait jacket. Maybe I could buy a diamond studded one, like I bet most stuff in your house is. Hey at least then I'll match. But oh no, I don't have enough money!

"I'm great. Just slightly... weird."

He grinned devilishly. "Oh, so I see hanging around me is having an effect on you." I blushed and he turned a little bit more serious, "What is the matter? You know you can tell me." he said. I slowly shook my head.

"Nah, nothing's wrong." I was actually thinking about how weird it was for me to be living in the house that mom and Andy had just bought. It used to belong to the servants who worked here; did that mean Paul, in a way, was now like... my master or something? Wow, this was getting really awkward!

"Suze, seriously, if you don't tell me I'm gonna find out on my own, via mind telekinesis." He raised an eyebrow, making little hand gestures, as if to say, _yes...?_

Sighing I replied, "That's not fair. And if you're that bothered, I was just thinking about how rich you are and how awkward a conversation between our parents would be. Mine would be all like, _hey, we're Mr and Mrs Ackerman! How's it going? Do you like our giant house? _And then, in response, yours would say, _good day, we're the Slater's. We're feeling acceptable, how do you do? And THIS is what you little people call a giant house? This isn't giant, let alone a proper house! _And then my parents would be really upset and they'd go to shake your mom and dad's hand, and your parents would turn their noses up at them and make a big production of wiping their hands down their trousers afterwards. Then when you next saw me, I would be like, _hey Paul, what's up? _And you'd look at me in disgust and reply, _don't speak to me. You're not on my social level. Leave before I squish you like a POOR little bug!__"_

He looked at me seemingly... astounded? Why would he be amazed by something I said, unless he was thinking why he'd ever allowed someone as weird as me in his house?

"Suze? You were babbling again." He stated trying-but failing-to bite down a grin. I thwacked him playfully around the head and rolled my eyes.

"No, you just don't have ears that are... uh, fast enough, is all," I said. He shook his head and we both laughed.

He turned to face me (we had gone back to the den and were sat on the leather sofa) and smiled softly. "I love your laugh. It sounds so innocent and... Cute. Doesn't suit you much though." And then he winked, got off of the sofa and went out of the room.

I sat still for a moment wondering if Paul had actually just said that, or if I had just imagined it. He just summed up exactly what I thought about his laugh. It sounded cute. It made him sound young and innocent. It didn't always suit him-although the first bit did, but I wouldn't admit at the time. And I absolutely loved it.

He walked back in a moment later, holding his wallet, for the Chinese I was willing to bet. I quickly scolded myself, remembering Jesse, but I couldn't help the pace my beating heart took when he came back in, looking all casual.

I scowled and he threw the wallet down on the sofa next to me. The reason I was scowling was because he knew what he said had bothered me somehow and was now smirking. "Please stop smirking," hey, maybe if I was polite he would?

Slowly, he tiptoed towards me and put his face down, right next to mine. "Let me think about that... no," he breathed. He jumped back and sniggered at my annoyed look.

"Paul, really, cut it out. You're annoying me." I groaned as he shook his head in reply, in frustration, I chucked the wallet at him and it hit him in the eye. "I hope your eye falls out." I said just as the bell rang. Knowing it was the Chinese man; I grabbed the wallet and ran to the door. It was downstairs so it took me a minute and I had to try to remember the way.

When I got there, I was very surprised to see a guy my age with dark hair and distinctly grey eyes.

"Kieran! Hi!" I smiled. I really liked the guy and he seemed to like me quite a bit. Not like, romantically, as I'm already with Jesse, but he seemed like potential friend material.

"Oh! Suze, hey, what are you doing at Paul's house? I wasn't really getting the feeling that you liked him?" he asked.

"Uh, I live over there, in that house just over the little field. I don't know anyone else and Paul didn't seem to mind keeping me company." I scowled at the floor and Kieran chuckled.

"Oh, I think he's got a bit of a crush on you Suze. Well, actually I'm pretty sure it's quite a lot more than, _a little crush _on you. But whatever, if you want you can come to mine Friday. I'm having a party-Slater's coming, by the way, and so are Callum, Luke, Max and Rose-it should be good. A good chance for you to get to know everyone." He offered. Thinking quickly, I decided it couldn't do much harm, and agreed.

"Great. Oh, that'll be... $5.55 please Suze." I handed him a $10.

"Keep the change. It's Paul's anyway, but I'm sure he won't care." I don't know where the bitterness had come from, but I think it must have been the fact that I had admitted to myself there was something I loved about Paul.

"Thanks Suze. This'll go towards the keg for the party. See you in school!" he waved and hopped back into his car. He was obviously well off but nowhere near as rich as the Slater's.

I walked back inside but couldn't remember where to go- yes the house was so big I couldn't remember my way around. Thankfully, I bumped into Jack who pulled me along by my wrist, back to Paul.

When I got back into the den, Paul's eye was a little red but nothing else. "Sorry..." I replied grudgingly. When I saw him there, I remembered that he hadn't really done anything wrong; also that I had robbed his wallet.

"You owe me Simon..." he muttered coming over to me. I shivered pleasantly when his hand brushed over my fingers. He apparently noticed this because he chuckled under his breath and traced my vein on my wrist. "You like that..."

I yanked it away, my stomach twisting pleasantly, refusing to give him an answer.

I stalked back over to the sofa, but on my way, during my big dramatic scene... the rug made me trip over. Paul burst out laughing and I shot him daggers. "You did that on purpose!" I accused. I had seen him narrow his eyes at the carpet, so I knew he had made it move.

"So what if I did?" he asked indignantly. I knew he was only messing around, so I let him help me up and pull me down onto the sofa.

"Okay, okay, I deserved that. Now can we please eat?" he nodded and we began to eat out of the little plastic take-away cartons. I had egg fried rice with sweet and sour sauce and Paul had some chicken and noodles thing. We finished eating, as we made casual small talk. It was really quite pleasant. Although the whole way through I felt guilty. Why was that you ask? Oh, only because I couldn't get rid of the nagging little wish in some horrible part of my brain, that wanted Paul to kiss me again, but this time, to know I wasn't unconscious.

Just as I was thinking about how terrible I was, he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen, Simon. They're like... emeralds or something." I blushed and before I could react, Paul leaned over and kissed me on the lips.

Now, I'm not gonna lie to you and say it was bad. I also won't tell you it was better when I was almost unconscious. Neither will I tell you... that I was feeling guilty, because I would be lying.

It wasn't bad; it was brilliant.

It wasn't any worse than the other one; in fact, it was far better.

I wasn't feeling guilty; I didn't think anything that felt so wonderfully, excellent could be wrong. I was enjoying it very much, revelling in the feel of his hands in my silky brown hair, the tingling on my lips and last-but _certainly _not least-the feel of his soft lips against mine.

Suddenly another thought occurred to me: how horribly bad and awkward would it be if Jesse were to come right now? What if he heard me thinking about him and thought I was calling? He would arrive and start having a spaz attack on me and Paul.

He would be all,

"Susannah! Nombre de dios, what are doing?" Hang on a minute... my head couldn't possibly have gotten his accent right in my head!

"Jesse!" Jesse De Silva was here. Jesse De Silva knew I was in Paul's house. _Jesse De Siva had caught me kissing his worst enemy!_

"Suze, I'm Paul not Jesse. What are you-"he broke off, realising what was going on. "Oh," he said.

Paul's P.O.V-

I was busy enjoying kissing Suze, saying over and over in my head, I'M KISSING SUZE SIMON, I'M KISSING SUZE SIMON, I'M KISSING SUZE SIMON!

When suddenly, she yelped-seriously, like a dog when they have their tail trodden on-"Jesse!"

What the hell? I'm Paul not Jesse. I pointed this out to her, feeling hurt that she'd mix us up and wondering if she was kissing me like that, but not really kissing _me _like that. I mean, I wondered if she was kissing me, but imagining I was _him. _When I followed her gaze, however, I understood why she was panicking. He was stood there looking furious.

"Oh," was all I said. Suze looked mega guilty but Jesse just looked... well, dead. No, I mean it. He looked as if he had just been killed again. Well, I suppose that's what happens when you catch your totally amazing girlfriend kissing a guy so much better than yourself- well, you do if the girl is Suze and the guy that's so much better than the other guy (confusing much?) is me.

"Susannah... why?" god, what a dumb question. Because, De Silva, I am a man, who is smart, good looking, rich, and, oh yeah ALIVE! Also, my trousers have a zip and my top has buttons, rather than string.

"Jesse... I'm so sorry! Please! Don't... don't look at me like that! It's... it's not my fault! He kissed me and it was just, well, hard not to kiss back... please!" her eyes were filled with tears, and her voice was shaking. The pain was even more prominent on her face that it was on Jesse's. It felt horrible, looking at her face whilst in such pain, knowing I was part of the cause. She was sniffling trying not to cry in front of me or Jesse.

She shot me a look and I instantly got a message from her via telekinesis-how she learnt to do that, I don't know, but I had more pressing issues at hand.

_Please go for a minute. I need to speak to him._

"Well... I'm gonna go get a drink. I'll be back in a few minutes." I stated, feeling sorry for Suze.

I shot a message back saying if she needed anything-anything at all-just to ask. She nodded discreetly, as I headed out to the kitchen.

When I got downstairs, I grabbed myself a glass of water from the kitchen, but all I could see in my head was Suze's face. It was the face of a tortured soul, giving up hope. I had to know what was going on up there!

With quick-thinking, I tapped into Jesse's ears- another shifter trick. It basically meant I could hear everything Jesse could. Now, I'm not going to go into detail (it was really gross and lovey dovey on Jesse's part) but I'll give you the basic gist of the conversation.

Jesse was asking her why she kissed me and Suze was saying I kissed her. Then De Silva asked why she kissed back and she said... OHMYFREAKINGGOD!

She-Suze Simon-said she did it because she... she... she likes me! Oh my God...

Has this chick really made me that _pathetic? _She says she likes me and suddenly, I feel ecstatic? Oh, God help me! I think I actually... well... _loved her!_

And that's not right. I'd only known her for like, a month, and already I felt like _that? _Awwwww, man, I had it real bad!

Quickly remembering that they were still talking to each other, I zoned back into their conversation.

"But Susannah... he tried to kill you!" not again, dammit.

"No, Jesse that was all a misunderstanding! Paul and I, we're, well... different from mediators. We can travel there-to the shadow land-whenever we want! And Paul's going to teach me how along with a load of other stuff!" Hmmmm... Paul and I. Suze and I. I, Paul Slater, like the sound of that.

I could tell from the silence that he was giving Suze an incredulous look. And that she was giving a look of her own right back. "Well then Susannah... I see you obviously trust him. Good luck with your life out here, I probably won't be visiting again," he stated coldly, but clearly in emotional pain. The next bit was all about how Suze was sorry; she would never forget him, and how much she would regret it later. Oh, yeah, and Jesse saying just to be clear, that it was over between them. And he dematerialised.

I grabbed a box of tissues the way back to the den knowing Suze was gonna need them. When I got there, I met the most painful sight I could have ever witnessed: Suze crumpled up in a heap on the tiles, sobbing her eyes out. I almost forgot this was the same girl who could knock someone out with a single hit, who could fall off of a roof and just get a headache.

Until I remembered, no matter how tough she acted, that's all it was: an act. She was still just a vulnerable little girl, who felt fear and pain, whether emotional or physical. "Oh, Suze..." I breathed.

She didn't even lift her head. I jogged over to her (it was a big room) and scooped her up in my arms, like I had at school, and sat down on the sofa. She sat on my lap, threw her arms around my neck and cried. I shushed her and told her it would be okay, although I knew for her, it was gonna take a while, for that promise to come true.

When she had calmed down a bit, I passed her the tissues. "Sorry," she said shakily.

"Don't apologise. You haven't done anything wrong," I said. She gave me a weird look, before saying, "Don't you get it? I _have _done something wrong. I kissed _you! _Whilst I was going out _Jesse! _He trusted me and how do I show him he was right to do that? I go behind his back and kiss his worst enemy! I was horrible! I _am _horrible!" this started the tears again.

Now, if this were any other girl, I would have told her to get a grip and shut up. But this wasn't just some girl, it was _Suze! _So I just rubbed soothing circles on her back and assured her that it probably wouldn't have worked out anyway. Which unfortunately, didn't have the desired effect either, by the way she smacked me around the face? God that girl is strong!

"Ouch! Suze, what the hell was that for?" I demanded. Her fingers flew to her mouth which had opened into a tiny O. Her face was covered in cute tear tracks, but I was too mad to be all that bothered about them.

"Paul! I'm so sorry! I swear I didn't mean to- I didn't think it'd actually-_please! _I swear it was an accident! I was just angry that you were being so insensitive, and... Paul?" she asked looking scared. Scared?

Suze's P.o.v-

I had finally stopped crying, but what Paul had said made the tears come all over again, as well as the anger. He was assuring me that it wouldn't have worked out between a shifter and a ghost. Even though I knew this already, it made me mad that he would point it out.

However, when I realised how hard I had hit him, I became mad at myself and when I looked into his eyes... all the anger was replaced by fear. They were jet-black, a sure sign that there was no humanity left within him.

"Paul?" I asked timidly. "Yes?" he asked grinning; humouring me. I gulped.

"Thanks for, uh, telling me about shifters and stuff. I should be off... I'll be seeing you at school," and I leapt off his lap like lightning. Wow, go alliteration. I kind of expected him to come after me so I got a big shock when he just sat still.

I ran out of his room, remembering the things he'd done to innocent ghosts and the look in his eyes. He still hadn't come after me and I still carried on running, partly because I was embarrassed about crying on him like I had, but significantly because I was frightened. Now normally, I would probably be able to take a guy down in a fight because of my shifter instincts/reflexes/strength/speed but when the opponent also has those, but more advanced, with more muscle and, oh yeah, no mercy, I think it's okay to run.

I had just gotten out of the front door, when a panicky voice called out from behind me, "Suze!"

I swivelled around and came face to face with... Jack?

"Jack? What's wrong?" I asked worried and a little breathless.

"It's Paul! His eyes are all black again... they haven't done that properly for ages! He's really scary when this happens and he always gets really angry! What should we do-o-o?" the fear in Jack's voice made me wonder what Paul did to him whilst he was like this, but I shoved it aside for a while.

Thinking quickly, I replied, "It's okay, Jack. Come with me. I won't let him do anything to you. Where's your den?" I knew Paul expected me to leave, but if I didn't he would get confused, right?

"I'll show you," Jack replied shakily, not questioning why I picked there. He grabbed my hand and ran up the stairs, in the opposite direction to Paul's den. We arrived at a room just a little smaller than Paul's with very different decoration. Paul's walls were painted a cold, impersonal blue and his furniture was all black, white or silver, and he had white and black tiles on his floor.

This room was painted cream and light green, with bean bags, toys, comic books and other various things spread out across the jigsaw carpet. His wooden furniture was light brown and looked very cosy. All in all, it was like, the complete opposite of Paul's room.

Shaking, Jack walked in and plonked himself down on one of the beanbags. "Well... what do we do now?" Jack asked, trying to act brave. I smiled in spite of it all, and just went to sit down next to him.

I had thought up a plan but I didn't like it. It made me seem like a defenceless little girl, but I couldn't really think of anything else. Feeling desperate, I explained my plan to Jack and he okay-ed it, so I called it into action- literally.

"Sam, Matthew, Zack... come here." I called.

Instantly, they appeared. Apparently seeing the tear tracks that were still on my face, they all gasped. "Suze! What's wrong?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, why are you crying?"

"Was it Slater?"

I answered, "Paul didn't make me cry, that's not why I called you here. Although, Paul is the problem. You know what happened earlier? When he went kind of... psycho? Well... it happened again. Me and Jack are actually, well... hiding here," my face turned red as I admitted the last part.

All 3 of the boys acted differently: Zack grimaced, Sam cracked his knuckles and Matthew... well, he grabbed my hands, pulled me flush up against him very dramatically, and growled, "I'll kill him before he does anything to you Suze..."

Now, it was my turn to gasp. I carefully eased my way out of his grip, not wanting to hurt his feelings and said awkwardly, "Uh... thanks guys. I was thinking could maybe one of you come with me while I sneak past Paul-"Matthew interrupted me, and said, "I'll take you," and I carried on.

"Okay then, Matthew comes with me, one of you looks after Jack and the other distracts Paul?" they all nodded.

"I'll take Paul," Zack said darkly, before adding, "I cannot believe he would do this to you! I mean... you punched me! Hard! You're obviously not the type of girl to get frightened by a guy! I'll kick his backside to china if he touches you... or the kid." I smiled gratefully, happy that he was now being as nice to me as the other two.

Sam saw Jacks worried face and said in a bright tone, that I knew was for Jacks sake "Alright then, I'll look after... Jack is it?" Jack nodded and Sam carried on, "Great. Paul isn't gonna touch you, and we aren't gonna hurt your brother unless we really need to,"

Apparently offended at the idea he would care whether or not Paul got hit, he said indignantly, "Oh don't worry. You can hit him as hard as you like. I really hate the guy. I'm fairly sure I was adopted anyway, so..." he grinned and pretended to punch and kick Paul. I must admit, since the summer, the squirt was really growing on me.

I ruffled his hair and said, "Okay that's settled. Sam, take Jack to his room and sit with him until Paul calms down. Zack... tell us all when Paul calms down. And Matthew you're coming with me. See you later. Oh and Zack? Don't make him angry, it really doesn't help..." I trailed off and walked out of the room.

Our journey home was uneventful, except for the fact that I tripped over a log because it was dark. And it kinda hurt. After making sure I was alright, Matthew laughed at me for a good 30 seconds until we proceeded to the house.

When I got inside, I yelled, "I'm home!" before high tailing it up to my room. I really didn't want to face a conversation with my mother about how wonderful Paul was or speak to Andy about how good the Chinese was. Plus I needed to wash my face.

I walked into my en-suite bathroom, put my hair up in a messy bobble and rinsed my face, until there were no signs of my former tears. It felt as though, with each tear track that was washed away, a bit of pain from Jesse was gone too.

Because although I felt unbelievably sad, I was also a little relieved. I knew it would never work out between the two of us, so in the long run, I was doing us both a favour by making Jesse break it off. If it had carried on, a lot of unnecessary pain would have been caused. But this way, everything would be alright. Well, alright-ish.

Matthew was over by my chest of drawers, looking at the decorations and pictures on the top. That included one of Jesse. I grabbed my PJ's, and changed in the bathroom. When I came back into my room, he was still looking at the pictures.

"Matthew?" I asked softly. He looked like he was reminiscing, and I didn't want to startle him.

"Yes?" He answered.

"I'm just going to say night to my mom and... dad. I'll be back up to talk to you in a minute." He nodded. I knew there was something wrong with him but I didn't know what, so I intended to speak to him about it. Maybe it would help him and the others move on, before I got too attached to any of them.

"Night mom, night... dad." I said.

They were in the living room, watching the news. Mom slowly turned towards me.

"See you in the morning Susie," she smirked, and kissed me on the cheek.

"Night Suze. Hey, I'm making pancakes in the morning," Andy said.

"Cool," I answered and walked out of the room, and back to mine, where 4 others were waiting. Three dead and one alive.


	10. Telling the brothers

**A/N: Wow, chapter 10, almost there aren't we? **

**DISCLAIMED.**

Telling the Brothers…

"Zack! Why did you bring him here?" Matthew shouted, leaping in front of me, shortly followed by Sam.

"Calm down guys! He's gone back to normal! Look at his eyes- they're blue," Zack replied, as Paul held his hands out in front of him, palms up, in the international sign of _we come in peace._

"So? I still don't trust him!" Matthew yelled, stepping forward.

Sam awkwardly added, "Well... he has done that twice in one day. Although... he's okay now, so... ugh! I dunno!"

"Boys, thank you for... looking after me, but Paul's okay now. Besides, I want to speak with him- he owes me that much. You may stay here with me tonight if you wish. Now Paul... explain please!" I ordered. I only really offered to let Matthew stay because I knew I wouldn't be able to speak with Paul otherwise. Unfortunately, he seemed to think this was his invitation to become my superhero protector or something. I sat on my bed and looked at Paul, as Matthew came to sit behind me, a protective hand on my shoulder.

"Suze... I'm so sorry! _Please forgive me!" _he looked so sincere... but I just couldn't take his word for it. Hadn't he promised earlier that day, it would never happen again? I believe he had.

"Paul, I-"I broke off, feeling horrible. I mean, the _look _he was giving me, it was just so... _sorrowful! _It was breaking my heart just looking at something so regretful and with so much pain.

I weighed up the consequences of forgiving him and ignoring him. Ignore him: get no shifter lessons, have hardly anyone to help me at school, disappoint my mom (I know she likes him and is majorly excited for me) and have wasted mine and Jesse's relationship for nothing.

Forgive him: learn about the shifters, make mom happy, have friends at school, not have wasted my relationship, as I had come to the conclusion, that I...well I...

I liked Paul Slater.

I mean I _liked _him, liked him. And that was a little bit scary. However, if I told him that and we went out, I would be constantly at risk of him... You know, going slightly... mad, like earlier that day.

"Suze? Are you alright? Are you ill? What do you think I should do, Sam?" I zoned back in, noticing they were speaking about me. I prayed to God I hadn't drooled or anything while I was gorming.

"So Suze... what do you say? Are we still friends, or ya know, whatever we were? Please say yes Suze, I really am sorrier than I can say. And-but I completely understand if you don't want to-if not friends then... something more? By the way you kissed me earlier, I take it you kinda like me? At least a little?" I thought back to when he was kissing me. He was so sweet and didn't rush me at all. I really, truly did want to take him up on his offer and become his girlfriend, but I just couldn't; the risk was too high.

"Paul... you're right I do like you. A lot. But your mood swings and your attitude changes are too hard to deal with. I would love to still be your... friend-'I hesitated, feeling like a stupid twelve year old'-and it would be great if you could carry on helping me out with the shifting stuff- on one condition!"

His eyes brightened considerably, and kept getting lighter the whole way through. He replied, "Name it Suze and it's yours. I'd do anything I possibly could to make you happy."

"You have to promise me you will try to stop those... things. And you must keep your hands-and lips-to yourself, at all times, do I make myself clear?" he chuckled and I smiled softly, relishing the sound.

"I'll try harder than I've ever tried before Suze. For you. I am completely fine with that, although I may have to think about the last part..." he winked. I nodded and he finished, "Thank you Suze, so much. I know you can't trust me the way I want you to at the moment, but I swear I will gain your trust even if it takes my whole life. I promise you; on my life Susannah Simon that I would never want to hurt you, or harm you, in any way. And if I manage to get better control on it, I shall try to tell you before I have another... attack, before it happens so you have a chance to get away. Oh, and so you know, the only time it usually happens is when my pride takes a major blow or when I get really angry or offended. And the best way to calm me down is to just... remind me who I am. Don't let me get upset or angry at the world, as that's what the inner demon does. It makes me forget what I live for; all the people who have ever been nice to me and makes me think that everybody hates me; fills me with negative emotions. And most importantly it makes me not care about anyone but myself, meaning... I lose myself completely." His eyes glazed over in horror over what he could do to me.

I simply nodded. He sighed and said, "Get into bed Suze. It's a school night." I climbed in and smiled softly to myself. This was kinda cheesy, but it filled me with so much warmth that, for a minute, it was easy to delude myself into thinking that I and Paul were just two random teenagers in love. Not some shifters who had recently been experiencing some weird, supernatural stuff.

Paul's P.O.V-

I saw her smile softly to herself, as I was looking down at her adorable little face. She seemed so peaceful and I wished we were just some teenagers in love; as opposed to being two shifters in a complicated situation.

I leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips, very quickly, very gently.

What? Don't look at me like that! It was her fault for being so... perfect. If she wasn't so amazing, I would have resisted. No, could have resisted, because I certainly couldn't then!

She sighed softly, but more in a '_that was nice' _kinda way, not in a '_here we go again...' _sort of way. Unfortunately, as I was about to ask her if she liked that, her new ghostie protector came to stop me.

"I thought she told you to keep your lips and hands to yourself, Slater," he snarled.

"Back off, Shore. This is between Suze and me, so leave her alone. Besides, if you knew her, you would know she _despises _guys who try to '_protect_' her, so if you want her to 'fall in love with you' then you really should let her stick up for herself you little-"Suze, sensing a punch up brewing, pushed Matthew a way a little, unintentionally bringing me back onto the bed, right next to her.

Suze's P.O.V-

"Paul, don't. He's just being... nice. Nothing else okay, it's completely platonic. Matthew's just worried, because he knows I don't scare easily and he saw me when you... anyway. And Matthew, Paul is correct, I don't normally let guys help me with anything, so feel honoured," Matthew laughed and saluted me.

"Oh, I do milady," Matthew replied. I nodded and turned to Paul, sighing at the sudden disappointment that filled me.

"Paul... you should go. It's late. And please, try to control it, Paul! And keep your hands to your_self_!" I ordered. He too sighed and then approached my door, before freezing.

"I'd best materialize out. We don't want your parents to know I was here. I doubt your mother would like that," despite the fact I knew she wouldn't really mind, I nodded.

"Uh, Suze? Would it be pushing my luck to ask if I can take you to school tomorrow?" he grinned hopefully.

I shook my head, laughing a little. "Slater, go home. You sound desperate, wouldn't want your reputation in danger would we?"

Oh, god... oh God please no... NOT THE PAULI PUPPY DOG EYES! NOOOOOO, LORD HAVE MERCY!

"Fine!" I snapped. "You're so immature, Paul!" I added.

He winked and dematerialised. I groaned feeling majorly peed off with and Paul and myself.

Suddenly, there was a huge knock on my door. Two actually. They sounded rather... annoyed; angry; frustrated.

"Come in," I called. As soon as that was said, three boys came barrelling in through my door, going by the names: Jake, Brad and David.

"Guys! What is it? What's wrong?" I yelped. Zack and Sam nodded at me and left, but Matthew stayed by my side.

"Who're they?" he demanded. No one (alive) said anything, so I said, as an explanation to Matt, "To what do I owe the pleasure of my three favourite step brothers coming to visit?"

Wow... I sounded like a mouse. Doc's face was blank, but the other two definitely held emotion. A mixture between anger and... Betrayal; hurt.

"Suze..." I sat up and gestured for them to come over. Doc did so unquestioning, but the other two stayed stock-still. I had a horrible feeling I knew what they were going to say.

"I thought you trusted us now Suze. And yet... you give none of us an explanation." Jake began. Brad carried on, speaking slowly.

"At lunch time, you were with Slater, tell me why." his voice was harsher than Jake's.

"Look, it was my first day and I didn't know anyone, so some sister-Ernestine-wannabe, came to me and assigned Paul as my 'buddy' to help me out for the day, alright? He introduced me to some of his mates and they're all really nice."

Brad nodded, seemingly satisfied with that part of the questioning.

"This evening, you've been with Paul. Why? I thought you hated him, so why the sudden change of heart? You were scared of him Suze, I know you were," Jake asked softly.

"It was all a... misunderstanding. He had his reasons and it was all put out of context in my brain because I didn't know... certain things. So now... I have nothing to hate him for. He has done no wrong. So we're cool," I explained hoping they wouldn't ask what made me scared of him in the first place.

"Alright, well explain why you were running back from his house, crying your eyes out," Brad said sternly.

"Uh... well I... tripped. Down Paul's stairs. And it, uh, hurt," I lied.

"Please don't lie to me, Suze. Now, explain why we could kinda hear voices talking about... supernatural crud... and then Paul saying he should 'materialize' out of the place, along with some random noise likes wind chimes. Then you talking to someone else who, when we entered the room, was not here," Jake said softly. The look on his face... it killed me. All that emotion...

I always thought people would be happier not knowing my secret, but I was causing some great people who really cared about me a lot of pain... maybe it couldn't hurt to tell them?

Oh, sure Suze, and then have them laugh in your face? Pfft... But I could always have used Matthew to help me?

"I... can't," I groaned looking back down at the floor.

"Suze... if you don't tell them, I will. They'll have to believe me, especially Jake," David stated. Oh my God... THE LITTLE CHEAT WAS BLACKMAILING ME!

"What do you mean, dude?" Brad asked.

I could see Jake's brain ticking. "The breeze way..." he murmured.

"No..." I breathed, shooting a horrified look at David. "Doc, no, you can't! It's not your secret to tell! You can't do that! You- you're all better off not knowing! David, if you tell them, I'm gonna get a load of my 'friends' to pound you!" I shriek-whispered. I shot him a look when I said 'friends' and he caught on to what I meant.

He paled slightly, but looked no less determined. "Suze, do you want to tell them, or me?"

"David, no... They won't believe us-either of us! They'll think we're both complete lunatics! And I refuse to tell them!" Dave shrugged.

"Then I'll tell them," all I could do was stare in horror at the little ginger before me, who was about to blow it.

"Suze sees dead people."

Brad looked confused. Jake looked... triumphant.

"Oh my God..." he breathed, "You're completely right! Of course you are, you're David, you're always right! The sneaking out... that was because you had to like, help them and perform exorcisms and stuff right? And that time with Bryce when you knew the beam was gonna fall on his head that was because of a ghost! And that time when you discovered about Mr Beaumont and all those murders was because one of the victims or someone told you! And Michael... the RLS angels came to you didn't they? I knew it! Well, I didn't, but whatever. And Paul Slater... that was over some ghost called Jesse! Wait, let me guess... you liked Jesse, but Paul liked you and then he got mad! Am I right? Am I? Well am I!" he said.

I slowly nodded. "Yes. I'm a... what people call a 'mediator', sort of like a medium. My job is to help souls of people who can't move on, because they have unfinished business. It varies, the cause of them being stuck. Yes, I sneak out to help them; yes, it was a ghost who dropped the beam on his head; it was sort of thanks to a ghost that I discovered Marcus's murders; yes, it was the RLS angels who let me know Michael had killed them; and yes, that is pretty much what happened with Paul, Jesse and I. Oh, and I know three others who are like me, as well as a psychic who can tell when someone is a mediator. The psychic is Madame Zara, and the 3 other mediators are Father Dom, Jack Slater and Paul Slater- well, actually, Paul and I are something else called shifters, but I won't explain those yet. Don't wanna give you an information overload." Oops, I think I was too late. They seemed to have an overload already.

"Suze... how are we supposed to know you aren't just... messing with us? Trying to make us feel guilty for making you tell us. Huh?" oh no...

I groaned and flopped back again. "I told you, David, that they wouldn't believe me!" and I felt tears pricking my eyes (why do my eyes keep doing that lately? Seriously, I was getting fed up of it!) And tried to hide under the covers, but not quick enough: Brad and Jake had seen.

"Now look what you've done you insensitive spaz!" Jake moaned.

"Suze, please, I... we didn't say we don't believe you! I just wanted to know if you had proof, is all!" Brad sighed.

I felt David jump off the bed, quickly replaced by someone heavier.

"Go away! You might catch the crazy-Suze-disease! Now leave, I don't like being teased!" I whined.

Brad put his head right next to mine and whispered, "Suze, don't be silly. You're my new lil sis', of course I believe you. Now pull your head out of there,"

I stubbornly said no and ordered him to leave. He didn't.

"Suze, if you don't come out, we're gonna tickle you to death..." Brad threatened. I snorted. Sighing (again!) I came out.

Matthew was still there, observing from the side.

"Matthew!" I shouted, suddenly remembering the previous plan.

"What?" Brad asked startled.

"I'll prove it, just gimme a second," I replied to Brad. To Matthew, I said, "Hey, Casper aka Matt, I need you to do me a favour. Could you possibly move the lamp for me?" he nodded and...

It floated up into the air, circled Jakes head, danced around Brad as he tried in vain to swat it and returned to the dresser. "Thank you Matty!" he saluted, again.

"Okay... we all believe you. Right guys?" Brad's voice had gone sort of squeaky. Doc and Jake nodded.

"Well, I've told you, guys, but you have to promise not to tell anyone of bring it up in front of our parents"

"Agreed,"

They all walked out, looking dazed. "Goodnight Suze," Doc said, bounding back to his room.

"See you tomorrow Suze..." Brad murmured, almost walking into the door.

"Suze... thank you for telling us. I know it was a big deal, telling us this. Thank you and we swear we won't tell anyone. Do you think, maybe one day, you could... tell me about it properly? Like, in depth?" I nodded and he continued, "Oh, and be careful! I don't want you to die just yet, I quite like being able to talk to you. And promise me, if you ever need help-with anything, not just ghosts, but those particularly-you'll tell me. Okay?" I smiled.

"Thank you, Jake, this really... means a lot to me," I put my arms around his neck and gave him a quick hug, before going to bed.

"Good night,"


	11. Milady

**A/N: Almost there... by the end of today I promise I WILL have uploaded all the chapters already existing, then I just have to finish writing it... I have a few ideas but if anyone wants to voice their opinion as it were, then PM/review.**

**DISCLAIMED.**

Milady

Suze's POV

I heard them return to their rooms, as I got back into my bed. I glanced over at Matthew who was admiring my photos.

"Hey, Suze, can I ask you a couple of things? Which you promise to answer truthfully?" he asked, disrupting the silence. I nodded.

"Sure thing,"

"When we found you... you were crying. Why?"

"Well... I don't want to say. You'll judge me, and then I'll feel horrible and none of you will ever speak to me again, and next time I have nothing to do and I call you and the others, you won't come, because you think I'm a-"

"Suze," he cut me off, "Just tell me,"

I nodded, embarrassed that I had babbled again. "Well... Paul and I kissed and then... my boyfriend, Jesse, came in and saw. Then... well, he dumped me of course. But I'm okay now. I figured out I kinda like someone else..." I said truthfully, referring to Paul. Unfortunately, judging by his smirk, he assumed I meant him. What he said next was further proof of that.

He sidled up next to me and casually put an arm round my shoulders.

"Oh? And who would that be? Anyone I might... know?"

I was thinking about telling him it was Paul, but I thought that was a little mean- not to mention life threatening!

"Actually, no you don't" I shrugged, pretending I was oblivious to his obvious... ya know, whatever-he-was-doing. His smirk disappeared, but his arm stayed there. He coughed slightly, and then continued.

"Question two: why don't you hate Slater? He's done that to you twice in one day, as well as frighten you out of your wits, plus made you break up with your boyfriend. So what is it?" I sighed at his question.

"Well... it's complicated. The reason he does these things... it isn't his fault, so I can't hold it against him. He hates it when he frightens me, I know he does, and I know he fees genuinely sorry when he has his... attacks. I know the stress of being a mediator/shifter so I feel sympathy for him. Paul and I... we're different from everyone else, linked on a completely different level- an astral one. You wouldn't understand. And as for it being his fault that Jesse dumped me... That's definitely wrong. I wasn't exactly protesting when Jesse came in, therefore it's my fault too," he just blinked at me.

"You're kinda weird, you know that Suze? You can be so tough and mean, then so gentle and deep... chicks and their mood swings," he muttered the last bit and I got slightly offended.

"Hey! I do not have mood swings! Just... everyone else is weird," I too, muttered the last section of the sentence and he chuckled. "I'll see you in the morning," I pulled the cover right up and curled up in my side screwing up my eyes. He chuckled and there was a suddenly weight next to me. I rolled over and saw Matthew lying next to me on top of the sheets, grinning like a mad man! I raised an eyebrow at him and he put on an innocent expression.

"What? You said if I allowed Slater to speak with you, I could sleep here for the night. It was quite a sacrifice on my part, letting that vile creature anywhere near you, milady!"

"Yeah, I said you could stay here, but I didn't literally mean _here, _here. I just meant in the house. And besides, you don't sleep," I pointed out a little bluntly.

His eyes saddened a bit when I mentioned his current state (meaning dead) but his smile never wavered.

"You should have been more precise then, darling..."

"Ugh! Fine! You lot are all the same... Pfft! You can stay, but if you annoy me I will kick your-"he cut me off again.

"Okay. Deal," he smiled. Almost as nice as Paul's smile... I drifted off to sleep.

In my dream, I was sitting in a brightly lit field, with Paul on my left and Matthew on my right. I looked at both their faces and noticed they both looked like complete opposites.

Matthew was glowing white and looked like an angel, whereas Paul was glowing black and looked like a devil. However, Paul was not acting like a demon and neither was Matthew pretending to be an angel. They both looked... relaxed.

"Uh... hi," I said awkwardly.

At exactly the same time they replied, "Hello, Suze," Suddenly both their heads whipped round to look at each other. "You!" they both shouted in unison. "How could you Suze?" they added, again at the same time.

"How could I what?" I asked clueless.

"How could you allow them to be here with us? It is supposed to _our _date, meaning you and me, not _our _date meaning you, me and that _thing!" _

Date? What were they talking about? Why would I be on a date with Paul, after that conversation? And why would I be on a date with Matthew, as he's dead? I've done the whole dead thing before, and it definitely doesn't work!

"Uh... sorry guys, I don't know how I got here. I don't really want to be on a date with either of you. Sorry!" I shrugged, and a figure appeared sat in front of me. It was bathed in a slightly sinister red light, but didn't look like it was about to cause me any harm. Also, it was slightly familiar.

"Yeah boys, sorry about that. She's actually here to go on a date with me, aren't ya toots?" uh... who was that? I could vaguely remember him I just didn't know where from.

It wasn't Kieran, Callum or Lucas, so I had no clue about who it was. Both the rejected boys scowled as mystery-man tugged me up and away from them. He bellowed back, "Next time, make sure the girls actually gonna be able to make it to the date before you make her come!"

Just as I was about to politely ask who he was/why he was there/where he had come from/where we were heading, the scene changed completely.

Once again, I was in Shadow land. Paul was there, sitting on the floor against the wall, looking at his watch and huffing like he was frustrated. "Uh... hi," I said for the second time in one night.

"Suze! Finally, do you have any idea how long I've been waiting here? God!" he stood up and flicked me in the head, to show he wasn't really mad at me.

"Sorry, but could you not have told me I was supposed to be here? It probably would've helped. And did you bring me here?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No I didn't bring you. You came here on your own. And I did tell you- sort of. I was calling you but you were blocking me out," he replied.

"Well... here I am. Now would you please tell me why I am here- and hurry up, I could start getting bags under my eyes if I don't start sleeping better!" he chuckled at my sleep comment and pulled me down to sit in front of him.

"Your body is asleep Suze, so don't panic, you're technically getting enough sleep at the moment. And you are here for another shifting lesson,"

Oh. Well, that makes sense.

He carried on, "I'm going to teach you how to shift and about shifting, alright?" I nodded. "Good. Now, to shift is really easy. You just have to close your eyes and picture this place- and your here. However, after every shift when you're conscious, you will most likely get a killer head ache. Luckily for us, they get better every time you shift, so your first will be far more painful than all the others. Remember, do NOT do this too often, as it may give you brain damage, or make you like... me," I blinked.

"You mean to tell me, I went through all that stuff, up in Shadowland, for nothing?" he nodded. "And that, when I panicked because I thought I was going to die from not leaving on time, I could have stayed there, and just gotten a little head ache?" he nodded again. "Oh... my... God... Father Dom, where ever you are, I am sooooooo going to kill you!" I mean, come on! He made me seem like a total wimp! I thought I was doomed, when really, I was just in danger of a head ache!

Paul chuckled and I had a weird image of me running around screaming like a lunatic, steam coming out of my ears, screaming and shouting '_we're all gonna die!'_

Paul tried to disguise a laugh as a cough, but I knew he had chuckled. Strait away, I smelt something fishy... well, not literally, coz I was in shadow land and there are no fish there, but whatever'.

"Paul... did you do that?" he took a deep breath, nodded and completely cracked up.

"Your face, Simon! God, you looked sooooooo... friggin... FUNNY! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I put my hands on my hips, only allowing a slight giggle to escape my mouth. An entire minute passed and Paul still hadn't stopped laughing, so...

I flicked him in the head-as he had done to me-and ran off down the hall, shouting, "You suck Paul!"

When I knew he could no longer hear me, I collapsed on the floor and lmao! I completely lost it; snorted and everything! I felt tears prick at the corners of my but from humour not hurt. I couldn't hold it in. It's just... you had to see it to understand. I looked a bit like a duck, waving my arms around!

"You... sound like... a pig!" Paul hiccupped, from behind me. I had been so busy giggling; I hadn't even noticed he had arrived.

"Yeah well... you suck!" I replied, again, wittily. He had apparently sobered up a little more than me.

"You repeated your insult- you said that as you ran off." He pointed out.

"Yeah, well... gah! Whatever, Paul!" I wiped away the few tears that had escaped and stood up, mimicking Paul by taking a deep breath. He patted me on the head and told me I was adorable and I, uh, growled at him.

And he growled back. So I growled again. So he growled again. So I growled again. And he growled again. Can you guess what I did next? I ate him.

Ha! I'm just kidding! I actually growled again. But then, when it was his go he broke the chain. Oh what a shame.

"Suze?" he asked. I was in a kind of daze from the growling thing so I got slightly confused and felt really... I dunno, just like, out of it.

"Yes?"

"...kiss me"

So I did. My arms went straight to his neck and my hands intertwined behind his neck; his came to my waist and his fingers did the same. He sighed and my eyes drooped closed. Ahhh... that was nice. He was a lot better at that than Jesse...

JESSE! Oh wait, I don't go out with him anymore. I thought to myself, _in that case, I think I will continue._

I was vaguely aware that Paul was smirking against my lips, but I ignored it. Mmmm... That was nice. Now that I was out of my growling-daze, I was aware of the fact that I was not supposed to be doing that. After all, I had told Paul I couldn't be with him if he continued having his... episodes. So by doing this, wasn't I just making it harder for him? Or would I be making it easier by letting him a bit of what he wants, then taking it away? Oh, no, that wouldn't be right; it would be like teasing him!

Ah, well... who could care when they're being kissed by Paul Slater?

'_Yeah, you should never stop... this is amazing! Paul is the best person in the world!' _My personal devil said in my head. Wait a sec...

I don't have my own Jekyll and Hyde. I groaned as I pulled my head away from Paul.

"Paul... you need to stop doing that! It's getting annoying! I really was serious earlier when I said I didn't want you when you were... like this. Okay?" I asked frustrated.

He grinned. "Oh, but Suze? What do you mean you want me to stop this?" I yelled back, "I mean, Paul Slater, that I want you to stop kissing me!"

"Suze, I kissed you the first time, but only because I was trying to wake you up; the second time was because you looked too perfect for me to resist and the third... well, this time, you kissed me, so I didn't do anything wrong! Besides, I know you love my kisses: I have seen it in your mind..." he said, mysteriously.

I groaned again and flopped down onto the floor. "Well, let's get this over with..."

For the next quarter of an hour, Paul told me in depth about our ancestors, the Egyptian shamans. As much as I hate to admit, the lesson was pretty interesting and I actually really enjoyed it. Paul was decent and a really good teacher; I told him this and he laughed.

"Really? I don't think I would any good at it if I worked in a school. I could murder one of the pupils!" I smiled, picturing Paul as a balding teacher, in his late 40's, a leather jacket with patches on the elbows and quite a bit more weight than Paul had. He was hanging teenage pupils because they had accidentally put Mrs Slater, not Mr Slater.

With a sudden inspiration, I willed Paul's brain to see this image and wonder of wonders...

He turned bright red and collapsed on the floor laughing- meaning he had seen the picture.

Despite how funny it looked, I didn't laugh as much as last time, as I was far too chuffed with myself for succeeding. After a minute, Paul regained control and turned to face me, sitting with his legs crossed, right next to me.

"Wow Suze, well done! You managed it without being told how! What did you do?" he questioned suspiciously.

"Well... I remembered how embarrassing that picture of me was earlier, and focused on getting even. Then, something told me to will the picture I got of you in my head, into your head and... Well, voila!"

"Well done, Suze! You're a natural shifter. You should be just as powerful as me, soon, with enough training and will power!" I sighed and he pulled me onto his lap. I went to protest but he shushed me.

"Hang on Suze; you've got something in your hair..." I waited patiently as he pulled his fingers along my head. He slowly pulled off... a photograph?

"Paul, what is that?" he showed me the picture and I gasped. I attempted to seize it, but he dangled it out of my reach. It was me... in the picture that Paul sent to my mind earlier. He put it back in front of me, but just as I went to grab it, it vanished.

"How did you... how did that... what did you just do?" I asked in awe.

"That was an illusion. They really come in handy with ghosts and humans alike. The reason I showed you this though Suze, is that you can make them see whatever you like, which means, no getting in trouble; at all! You won't stop helping the ghosts, no matter how much trouble you could get in with the police when you break and enter- I know how often you do that Suze, I've seen your memories. So you can just magic up an excuse, like a fake ID or something. I don't know, but it's bound to come in handy. To do this, all you need to do is picture it clearly in your head and will it to be there- much like the picture thing! Now, give it try" he ordered.

In my mind, I clearly pictured a photo of Mr Slater the secondary school teacher, aka Paul Slater. Instantly it

"Well done Suze, you really are good at this. I think we should go back now; I'm getting a bit cold. See you in the morning at about... 8? Is that good for you?" I nodded and he added, "You really are good at this. Next lesson, we can cover mind reading and control I think. You can do whatever you like to me then..."

"Goodnight Paul!" I pictured my new room and was instantly backed in my body, facing a panicky Matthew.

"Oh my gosh, Suze! I thought you were dead! What happened? Where you in a coma or something? Are you okay? Should I get someone? Say something!"

I grimaced, as the world's most painful headache set in. "I'm okay thank you. Please keep your voice down; I have a killer head ache! And no I wasn't in a coma; I was in Shadow land, with Paul, having another kiss- I mean, having another _shifter _lesson!" smooth Suze, smooth.

"Oh, that's good. Sorry, didn't mean to hurt your head. What's Shadowland? And you really should be careful Suze, he's bad news. I don't want you getting hurt. If you died, I don't know what I would do!"

I giggled nervously, very aware of what he had just said. "Yeah, that would really suck; you'd have no one to get your revenge. Ha-ha..." I gulped as he shook his head.

"No Susie. I mean, I've become rather...fond of you over the past day or so. I would be rather upset if suddenly you weren't there. What about you? You have, after all, broken up with your boyfriend, so... what do think, Suze? Coz babe, you're really cool. You aren't like all the other girls; they're all annoying, selfish and plastic, where as you... well, you're the complete opposite: nice, normal-meaning you know when to leave someone alone and what not to do to people to stay on their good side-, proper-meaning you don't cover yourself in make up- and you're really selfless-you help people all the time. Basically: you're perfect!" he winked.

I blushed. Oh no, I knew this was coming. I really didn't want to have to talk about it then with a head ache from hell (literally) and I seriously didn't want to hurt his feelings, because he was totally sweet and everything.

"Look... Sorry, but I don't think I can be with anyone so soon after Jesse. We were together a long time and it could take a while to get over. Sorry," I shrugged and he nodded coolly.

"Okay milady. I've got time- an eternity of it actually," I chuckled as did he and cocked my head to the side.

"Why do you always call me that? Milady?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, because of that time when you said I should feel honoured to be spending time with you. This is my way of showing that I do- feel honoured I mean," I blushed and nodded my head.

"I guess that makes sense. See you in the morning, or in a couple of hours should I say?"

"Night Suze."


	12. Take one for the team

**A/N: AND THIS IS IT! THE LAST BIT OF LOULABEL'S FABULOUS STORY!**

**I'll try and start writing at some point tomorrow, but I don't know when the next bit (which will be mine) will be up.**

**DISCLAIMED.**

Take one for the team

Suze's POV

"Suze! Get up! Its 7:45, you're going to be late!" I awoke in the morning to my mom screeching at me up the stairs- apparently, her previous knocking on my door and advising me to get up, had fallen on deaf ears (meaning me, asleep).

"Okay, okay, I'm up!" I shouted back, running a hand through my hair. I ran my hand through my hair, before noticing someone was staring at me.

"Ah! Matthew you creep, you made me jump!" I laughed. He grinned and tutted.

"You should be ready for school by now," as I leapt to my wardrobe, he smirked and I remembered what had happened last night. He had asked me out. And I had rejected him. And he had not been particularly happy.

Well, he took it better than Paul I guess. He nodded his head at my outfit.

"Nice. That look really suits you, Suze. You should wear stuff like that all the time. You're unbelievably talented at making simple things and styles look... divine," he winked at me and dematerialised.

Ooooookay...? Things were getting a little weird with him. Well, he would be gone soon anyway, so I wouldn't bother complaining. I hopped into the shower for, literally, 2 minutes and then got dressed.

I did my hair in front of the full length mirror and admired my outfit: Grey skinny jeans and a t-shirt that said in bold, black calligraphy, '_I know I'm not perfect, but I'm so close, it scares me!'_

Gina and I had bought it when she came to visit that time in Carmel, when I was dealing with Michael Meducci. The top was a little vain, but Gina assured me it wasn't- just a bit of ego boosting fashion, she said.

I styled my hair, packed my bag, brushed my teeth, filled my ruck-sack and said goodbye to my parents.

"Brad, Paul said he would take me today! I'll see you in homeroom!" I shouted to Brad up the stairs. I distinctly heard my mother snort, and turned to face her; hands on hips.

"What?" I asked defensively. She just shook her head and told me to go, before I made my boyfriend late. I hadn't even noticed what she said until she smirked and closed the front door on me!

I trekked up the hill to Paul's, feeling weird after last night's kiss. Paul had been reading my thoughts, which meant he knew how I had been feeling... I wonder how that affected him. I had been gorming all the way there, but soon, the giant entrance was looming in front of me.

Knocking nervously, I peeked at my phone. I was a minute late, but Paul's car was still there. I stood there for a moment, feeling very awkward. Still nobody came.

Paul POV

I was up in my room getting ready, when suddenly I heard a nervous knock on the door downstairs. Oh, well, it probably wasn't for me. But then again, what 'friends' of Rick and Nancy Slater are timid?

Who cares, I wasn't expecting anyone and if it were for me, I think I would have remembered.

As I was spraying lynx on, I thought about Suze. I wondered where in Carmel she could be at that precise moment, whether she was at school, if she was with the cowboy, but then I remembered...

Suze Simon, attending St Christopher's High School, Callum flirted, I scared her, we had a shifter lesson, Jesse dumped her, we kissed, she liked it... and I was supposed to be taking her to school at 8, when it was... _8:10!_

Damn! I ran down to the door and yanked it open. "Suze!" I cried. She smiled shyly. Awwwww... she was so sweet... not like the other girls, who all knew they were pretty. Suze thought she was just average, but she was far more- well, she thought she had nice hair and was 100 percent correct.

"Uh, Paul, why so late? And, uhm... why aren't you wearing a shirt?" she blushed and I smirked.

"Oh, sorry Suzie Q, I didn't know it bothered you," she blushed harder and snapped,

"Shut it, Pauli poo!" I knew she had called me that because of the Suzie Q thing, so I just laughed.

"Sorry I'm late, I really overslept and you can't really hear the knocking too well in this house- which is why there is a _bell!"_ I indicated to the bell and she blinked.

"Why did I not think of that before?" she muttered. I chuckled and grabbed her hand. I lead her to my den and she didn't object as I sat her down on the leather sofa, but she gulped as she saw my six-pack. I was about to ask why she became so nervous, when her thoughts literally _screamed _at me.

'_Oh God... I hope he doesn't get mad again... someone with a six-pack THAT well defined could do me some serious damage...'_

I sighed and squatted down in front of her.

"Suze, look... don't be scared of me, alright? I'm not going to hurt you, so calm down!" she nodded taking a deep breath and smiled a full, ten watt smile at me.

"I know. Now go and get ready, I don't wanna be late. I have stuff to do," she dismissed me, leaning back comfily. This chick was con-fus-ing!

Suze's POV

He led me to his den and I caught site of his stomach. _Whoa! _Someone with that many muscles could really do me some damage! I became a bit nervous and gulped, then thought back to when his eyes were all dark and I thought of all the things he did to innocent souls... ugh! I shudder at the thought of it!

_Oh, God... I hope he doesn't get mad again... someone with a six-pack THAT well defined could do me some serious damage..._

He sighed and I knew he had heard my thoughts when he squatted down in front of me, taking my small hands into his rough ones and looked me in the eye.

"Suze, look... don't be scared of me alright? I'm not going to hurt you, so calm down!"

I nodded and smiled a full, scary-clown-smile at him, thinking about how nice he was being to me and how last night was.

"I know. Now go and get ready, I don't wanna be late. I have stuff to do," I ordered, leaning back, making myself perfectly at home. He gave my hands a little squeeze grinning back although I didn't know what about. I suddenly became very curious and wondered what in the world he was thinking.

What could it be, what could it be, what could it be...?

_She's thinking about last night... she loved it, I know she did! She's clearly interested in shifting and really good at it and I also know, for a fact, that she loved it because I was there and, ya know... kissing her. She wanted to carry on, I know she did._

Whoa... my head... hey look at that, the walls are all fuzzeeeeeeeee... Ooooooh, I'm sleepy... night, night...

Paul's POV

I heard something hit the floor, hard and so I span around... To see Suze on the floor.

"Suze!" I all but screamed. Her head was really pale and her eyes shut weakly. I dashed over to her and scooped her up wedding-style, like I had at school and carried her to my room. It would look seriously bad if my parents found her in my den, unconscious. I knew what had happened to her- she had read my mind and fainted because I had put a special spell on my mind. It tells me when someone is reading my mind, and consequently messed with hers. Plus, she's new at this, so it's bound to happen if she tries too much mental stuff in too little time.

I laid her on my giant, emperor sized bed and she moaned. I zoned into her thoughts and found they were all messed up. Like, she had loads in her head at once. However, I managed to pick out the main one-

_My head! Ow!_

She had probably only gotten rid of her headache a little while before, so this just overdid it and now, her head would hurt even worse. Nothing like when I used to enslave ghosts though. I doubt there is anything known to shifter/medium/demon or anything else like that, that has a worse cause for a headache than me.

She moaned again and I fetched a flannel from the bathroom, put cold water on it and put it across her forehead. No, I wasn't being a softie; those headaches really are the pits! They kill!

I threw a shirt on and put gel my hair I turned back around and saw that Suze had wrapped herself up in the covers and groaned into the pillow in pain. I approached her slowly, not sure of what she would/wouldn't remember when she woke up- which she was doing then.

I gently laid a hand on her shoulder and she gasped. Her head was still burrowed in my pillows so I guess she didn't know she wasn't actually in her own bed. She went to spin round, but as soon as she moved her head, decided not to.

"Whoever you are, get lost," she mumbled groggily.

"Suze..."

"_I said leave me alone... whatever your name is!" _huh? Since when am I called whatever-your-name-is?

"Suze, look, you need to look at me. I need to check your pupils, make sure you don't have anything, really... wrong with you," I said as she grumbled something about needing to sleep. I sighed and walked around the other side of the bed.

"Look, if you want to stay here and sleep in _my room-Paul Slater's room- _then you can, but I doubt-"she cut me off, going

"Oh, my God! Paul, what happened? Where am I? Why did I have a load of memories in my head that weren't mine? And why were you... why were you in them?" she stuttered.

Wait, what? "What did you see, Suze?" I asked frantically. Oh, if she saw any of my memories from my dark days... she would never speak to me again!

"It was... it was you. And Jack, you were in a park playing on a swing... you were pushing him and when he pushed you, he was too weak. You were both much younger and looked... really close. That was a memory wasn't it?" I nodded slowly.

Yes... I remembered that. Back when he was really young, no one worried about his ability to 'see ghosts' they all thought he was just making it up because that's what three year olds do. I was only about 12 or 13 and we used to go quite well with each other, but after that, I realised he was actually a medium and had to distance myself from him: One, because he's a little creep and two, because if he spoke to me a lot, he would've realised I was a shifter.

Suze's POV

More memories had gone through my head than that, but that was the last one and the one I remembered most clearly. I knew there was another one, but I didn't voice that. It was Paul mediating an old man, at what looked like him at Jack's age. Jack was a spitting image of Paul in his younger years. All accept their frames. Jack was a little bit scrawny and weak, but Paul had always been tough, although not so much back then. I wondered what made Paul stop mediating ghosts.

"Well, we'd best be off to school, Suze. I can just say the car ran out of gas or something, and get Richard to write us a note," Paul said breezily.

"Who's Richard?" I asked.

"Oh, he's the one mom and dad pay to look after the house, look after Jack and go shopping for supplies. I'll make him forge a note,"

"What do you mean you'll, 'make him' forge the note?" I asked cautiously.

He grinned evilly and tapped his nose. I sighed and asked if we could go and he said sure.

When we got downstairs, I met 'Richard'. He was a snooty butler guy, with slick black hair, a perky nose, thin eyebrows (I think he plucked them) and a suit. I snorted and had to disguise it as a cough.

"Good morning, Mr Slater. Who is this girl? I am sure your parents would not approve," hey! What's that supposed to mean? You mean they wouldn't approve of me or just, of Paul bringing someone to school?

"Actually," Paul spoke smugly," her name is Susannah and my parents absolutely _adore her. _This is the _woman_ who changed Jack, from Carmel." Hahaha... he called me a woman and said his parents adore me... take THAT stupid, snooty, butler-guy. ENDED!

"_Oh! _Miss Susannah, my sincerest apologies. I assumed you were here to go to school with Mr Slater. What you did to Jack... that was remarkable!" what? I don't get him... he doesn't make sense. And... HE HAD A BRITISH ACCENT! I nodded my head politely. He was the most stereo-typical butler in the world!

"Oh, what do you mean Richard? She is here to come to school with me. Susannah Simon is in my year at St Christopher's," I knew Paul was just teasing him now, and it was actually pretty funny.

"_What? _You mean to tell me, Seattle's finest therapists couldn't cure that child, but she could? That girl, cured a maniac, for crying out loud? I don't think-" An indignant-but squeaky-voice broke him off.

"Hey! I am not a maniac you... you... you..." Jack took a deep breath and Paul had to throw a hand over Jacks mouth to shut him up.

"Whatever dude. Just sign this slip and hurry up," Paul ordered. The butler went to object but when Paul raised an eyebrow at him, he sensibly shut his mouth and signed the slip, saying we were late because our car broke down, giving us an excuse.

Paul smirked at him as we left, winking at Jack who beamed at his brother, glad to have Paul being nice to him for change.

On the way to school, there was a nice change. I heard a low rumble and asked, in a completely mute voice, "What what that?"

Paul replied, "Uh... the lion?" I looked at him and he shrugged. I giggled as it happened again and he chuckled deeply.

"Hey Suze, do you mind if we stop in here for a bite to eat? I haven't had any breakfast yet. Want some?" I thought for a minute and realised I too had forgotten to eat.

"Yeah, that'd be good. I think I've got my purse in my bag, so yeah," Paul nodded and told me he would pay. After all, he apparently owed me for making me late.

"What do you want Suze?" Paul asked once inside and seated. It was a small place, with creamy carpets and green walls. It was very cosy and looked very... homey. I asked for pancakes and Paul and I sat on a sofa against a wall, with a view of some kind of painting.

"What is it?" I questioned indicating to the picture. There were so many swirls, I could barely tell, although it was very good; far better than I could do.

"I think it's a man stabbing someone with a banana. What about you?" I gave a weird look.

"Okay then banana boy... I think it's a kitty. Look, that can be the body and the head-'I indicated to the two swirly-blobs that looked like those particular body parts'-that's the tail-'I pointed to the banana-tail'-and the rest is easy to figure out. So ha," he frowned.

"No Suze, I think you'll find that tail is a banana; that 'body and head' is the top half of a woman-the other half must not have been painted on-and the rest is the man. Why else would someone be holding a cat's tail?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Pfft... obviously, Paul, it's just the artist creating a lovely, child friendly picture and that's his way of showing that cats are cute. Besides, my idea is far more realistic," I stuck my nose in the air adding, "Oh, and pancakes are good please," I smiled slightly at his taken aback look.

A pretty waitress of about twenty approached our table, eyeing Paul.

"Good morning sir... what can I get for you?" she fluttered her eyelashes making me kinda... I dunno what it was. But the emotion I was feeling? Not making me too fond of that waitress.

"Excuse me, but have you got something in your eye?" Paul asked politely. She shook her head rapidly and I almost snorted but managed not to.

"Okay then, good, good. What do you want babe? Pancakes?" I nodded. Internally laughing my head off at the waitresses annoyed face. Oh, don't worries, I only let him call me that to annoy... Caitlin, as her badge said. He carried on, "Okay, I'll have what she has please," Caitlin nodded stiffly and scurried away to the kitchen. When she was gone, we both cracked up- again. It seems that's all Paul and I do these days, laugh. Not that I mind, like I said, he as a nice laugh.

"Excuse me sir?" Paul caught the attention of a young waiter passing by. He seemed to be checking me out but Paul put a protective arm around my shoulder and the dude stopped. He shook his head quickly and asked if we needed anything.

"Actually, we were wondering: what is the painting of?" Paul asked nicely.

The waiter dude-Mike-chuckled and replied, "well actually, that's a rather bizarre painting. It's a man... stabbing a woman with a banana,"

My jaw dropped and Paul thanked him as 'Mike' walked off to an old couple.

"Told ya so Suze. You should never doubt the Paul-Mister," he nodded his head coolly and I grumbled something about him being a stupid, handsome, arrogant jerk, but let's uh... forget that.

"What did you call me?" Paul smirked. My face flushed and I mumbled,

"Nothing..."

"Ah, but Suze, if it was nothing, you wouldn't have said it. Tell me," he ordered.

"I said 'you are a stupid, arrogant, jerk," I said indignantly. What? I wasn't actually lying; I had said that- just, I had said something else too.

"No, I distinctly heard another word in between stupid and arrogant. In case you're having trouble, it rhymed with ransom. An equivalent was good looking. Definition is- having an attractive, well-proportioned, and imposing appearance suggestive of health and strength; good-looking: _a handsome man," _he smirked and I glowered at the table.

"You must be hearing things," I sniffed. He went to retort but our food arrived.

"Thank God, food!" I cried, my spirits lifting. What, I was hungry okay?

I dug into my food as did Paul- he apparently was very hungry too. We were both so busy eating, neither of us bothered to make conversation.

About an hour later, I was sitting in English class, waiting for break. I had had a bit of an embarrassing English lesson so far. When Paul and I walked in the teacher had decided it would be 'good' if I told the class about myself, what I liked, where I was from etc.

Paul gave me a sympathetic look and sat down in his seat. "Okay, well... I am Suze Simon and I'm originally from New York but I moved to Carmel, California when my mom re-married. I attended Juniperro Serra Mission Academy for a year, until my mom got a new job and we moved here. I've been here for a few days now," I smiled at the teacher and went to take seat, but the teacher stopped me.

"Good, what's your favourite lesson at school? What are your interests?" I groaned in my head and Paul shot me a message.

_Just tell them and get it over with. Don't worry; this happens to everyone when they're new. They all know how it feels. Oh and a tip: look confident or else Kelsey and Danielle will hate you. _

He grinned at me and I lifted my head high.

"I don't really have a favourite lesson but I think I enjoy PE a lot. Sports and fitness are really important,"

One of the 'popular' looking girls snorted and I raised an eyebrow at her, though she didn't realise I had noticed. She whispered-though not quietly enough-to the blonde girl next to her, "God, she's a freak. As if any sane girl would _want _to do exercise! It messes up your hair and makes you sweaty and gross!" I cocked my head to the side and replied,

"Actually, you girls probably wear enough styling spray for it to stay the same and if you actually did more exercises, you wouldn't get sweaty because your body would be used to it,"

The girl glared at me as everyone laughed. Some jocks in the back-Callum and Kieran included-made this big thing of high fiving each other and going, _'Ooooooh!'_

The teacher, Paul and I were the only ones not to laugh, but I definitely saw the teacher grinning. I smirked; Paul winked at me.

"Thank you miss Simon, You may take a seat," As I sat down the girl cried,

"This is sooooooo unfair! You're a teacher; you should be punishing her!"

"Actually, Naomi, you called her a freak; now you are both even," She moaned that it wasn't fair and that she was sooooooo gonna get me, but then Lucas-the actor-cut her off.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. She's from New York: she would crush you in a fight,"

"Yeah, she'd beat me if she were angry enough I reckon," Callum chipped in.

"So don't make her angry; or you'll have me to answer to as well," Paul whispered the last bit so the teacher couldn't hear. She looked well and truly scared then- but not nearly as scared as she was embarrassed!

And so here I am, watching the ticking clock, ignoring the teacher and wishing I had something better to do. I started to think about the ghosts' case. I suspected someone but I didn't have any evidence yet so I couldn't really act upon it. Maxwell Steel seemed like one of the only possibilities, although I suppose it could have really been anyone at the party- the boys did say there was alcohol. There's a chance someone was drunk and accidentally killed them, right? I dunno... something just gave me the chills about it all.

At the end of the lesson I rushed out and on my way to the lunch hall found who I was looking for: Max. He was hanging around with Rose who was looking rather uncomfortable. Max-her boyfriend-was leaning on a locker with his arm draped coolly around her shoulders, trying to kiss her on the lips, but she moved her head out of the way.

I hid behind a wall and listened in carefully.

"Look, Max, I... I'm really sorry, I know at first I said I would go out with you, but it's just... too soon. I can't I just miss him too much. I'm sorry," she tugged herself away from him, taking advantage of his momentary shock.

"Hey! Hey, Rose! Get back here! Rose!" he shouted down the empty hall. Seeing it was no use, he gave up and began to speak to himself, instead. "She doesn't want me? Well, that's her loss! I am way better than any guy here-than all the guys here-especially that stupid _Zack Rutland _that she thinks she loves so much! Glad he's ah... gone. He-he... anyway, I'll just get myself some other chick; in fact, I think the new girl has just gotten herself a date..."

I gulped. Surely there was some other new girl, right? It was after all the start of a new term, so yeah, there must have been. And did anyone else find it slightly suspicious that he sounded so, well... homicidal towards Zack? Uh oh...

"Hey doll, you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost!" a deep voice joked from a few feet away. Why? Why did God not feel it necessary to give me a working brain?

"Oh, uh... hey Max, yeah I'm fine, just feeling a little sick. And I think I've just made a new enemy in what-ever-her-name-is, the blonde bimbo who hated PE," he stared at me.

"You're one weird girl, but ya know what? I think weird is just another way of saying epic," he winked at me,

"Suze Simon right? Slater's girlfriend?" I scowled at the floor and shook my head.

"Oh, we don't go out. And yeah, I'm Suze, you're Maxwell Team, right?" he nodded, grinning confidently.

"In that case, you want to go out on Saturday? A new restaurant just opened up in town and I really wanna go see this horror film that comes out on Saturday. Besides, I just dumped Rose coz she was messing around with some other guy; she was never very faithful anyway. I was just hoping it would get better, you know?" I nodded pretending to be sympathetic on the outside, but on the inside I was plotting and scheming-oh, and shouting, 'liar! Dirty little liar!'

Hmmm... This could work well for me... it was Michael Meducci all over again! Boy kills some people; boy likes me; I use that to make boy confess... heh heh...

I sidled over next to him and pouted, "Oh, that's so bad! She doesn't deserve you anyway, Max. I'd _love _to come on Saturday, as long as I have nothing planned," he smirked and nodded and I knew from experience that he was thinking something along the lines of: _yes, she's a player!_

He chuckled and casually put an arm around my shoulder and yawned. "Come on babe. I'm starving,"

When we arrived at the lunch hall, he directed me over to a table. Sat at that table, was: Lucas Tyrell, Kieran Knight, Callum Turner and Paul. Max pulled out a chair for me and I sat down on it as he got one next to me for himself. I uncomfortably glanced at Paul who looked shocked, confused and a little hurt.

_Suze, what the hell? I thought you said you liked me! And don't bother saying you don't because I know you do; I've been in your head!_

I shot back, _don't get your panties in a wad Slater. I don't really like him-I'm acting. I'm fairly sure this guy is homicidal so I'm tricking him into telling me, so I can record it and give it to the police so Matthew and the others can move on._

As I was sending this message a thought occurred to me- hadn't they said the party they had died at had been at Paul's? Apparently Paul heard this thought.

_If you're trying to say you think I did it, then get a clue, Suze- Zack and I were really good mates. And yes, if you're wondering Max was there that night. And that plan won't work Suze, how in hell do you expect him to tell you?_

_Paul, I know it wasn't you. Something's telling me that it's Max. And hey, I've used this plan before, a week or so before I met you actually. Michael Meducci is now stuck in prison for life, all because I smiled and fluttered my eyelashes a little._

I heard Paul whistle in my head and say impressive. Then I had a weird sensation as my mind went all tingly. Paul, I knew, was doing something but I didn't know what. I waited a few seconds and he told me he would explain later.

"Suze, Suze, you still here? Planet Earth to Suzie?" Max's obnoxious voice brought me out of my day dream.

"Oh, sorry Max, I completely zoned out!" I gasped. I was slightly panicky at the thought of being exposed as a shifter, when I remembered, duh Suze, they can't read your mind, so they don't know what was really happening. Instead, they'll just think you're a spaz.

"Ah, that's alright darlin'. But you should eat something; you're practically wasting away!" he prodded me in the stomach jokily and I smiled... but that smile disappeared right away as I saw something out the corner of my eye.

"Ha-ha... yeah... you know what? I'm really not very hungry... in fact, I feel kinda sick. I think I might throw up," I jumped up from the table and sprinted to one of the classrooms faster than most humans can travel. When I got there, I collapsed on the door panting.

"Zack... Matthew... Sam... It's not what it looked like," really Suze? It's not what it looked like? Man I'm lame.

"Suzie! How could you? You... We thought you were one of the nice ones! How could you start dating our freaking _murderer!" _Sam shouted, angrily.

"Yeah Suze... we all cared about you, we thought you cared about us too... so why? Besides, I thought you still weren't over your precious pirate, or whatever?" Matthew looked a little more hurt, but still angry.

"You're gonna burn in hell, Suzie pie, for what you've done to us..." Oh my God... I haven't seen anyone this scary before except for Paul, but at least I know that isn't really him acting; it's his inner demon. But today, with Zack... well, he was all Zack.

They cornered me against the classroom wall and I gulped.

"Look, I swear I can explain... please, just let me. I have to do this, it's part of the mediation process. I have to pretend to like him, otherwise he'll never confess! So you see? I haven't done anything wrong! Now stop it!" My voice took on a more confident tone at the end as I returned to my normal Suze-rules attitude.

Matthew froze looking astonished as did Sam. But Zack didn't seem to believe me. He laughed and carried on coming towards me until he was right in front of my face.

"Sure, Suze, coz you'd really do all that for a couple of ghosts. Pfft... She's lying boys, why should she do that, for us, a few dead guys? What sane teenage girl would make a sacrifice like that, going out with that leech?"

I sighed, feeling highly annoyed.

"Look, if you don't want my help, you could just say! No need to go all psycho on me dude. I can just exorcise you instead if you want. But seriously dude, look into my eyes and tell me if you still think I'm lying," he looked into my eyes doubtfully and I hoped he would to believe me.

"No!" a shout broke me off and Zack fell onto his butt. His eyes were unfocused and looked like someone had just hypnotised him, except, I hadn't, had I?

"Suze, no! Look guys, she's telling the truth, she doesn't really go out with him! She wants you guys to move on, because it's not fair having to live a half-life!" Matthew blinked and apologised to me, saying he couldn't believe he hadn't known what I was doing. Sam said he was sorry for jumping to conclusions but asked if next time, I would give a warning. Zack just... went. He didn't say/do anything to express how he felt, he just... went.

"Suze, look, you... you can't do that!" Paul shouted throwing his hands in the air.

"Do what?" I asked clueless.

"Do what, what do you mean 'do what'? Hypnotise ghosts of course!" he said exasperated.

"What? Paul, I'd never do something like that! You know I hate anything remotely _like _that! All I did was hope he would believe me!" he turned to face me as I explained what had happened.

"Suze... be careful. Hope is a dangerous thing for us shifters when we're looking into someone's eyes. The eyes really are the window to the soul; it's not just an expression," he told me wisely.

"Paul, I... I didn't mean to!" I started panicking. Oh my God, Paul's gonna hate me! He tries so hard to stop using his powers on ghosts, and here I am hypnotising ghosts for no reason!

"Shhhhhh... Suze its okay, I understand. You're new to this so when you panicked, it turned your emotions into power, don't worry; it happens to all shifters when they're first getting used to the powers. You've been doing so well over the past day; it was bound to happen sooner or later. And doesn't worry- I still think you're cool, even though you have hypnotised one of my best friends," I laughed but then stopped abruptly.

"Paul... how do I reverse the hypnosis?" his face went blank and he sighed.

"I... I can't remember. I've got a load of books back at home that I haven't looked at since it happened, it should be in one of those. I'd best look tonight," I nodded and said,

"I'll come and help if you don't mind. If you don't think you can look in the book or that it will bring back bad memories, you can tell me which book to look in and I'll reverse it. I think that would be good, I can have an extra lesson. Uh... if you don't mind that is!" I added seeing his doubtful face. Man how embarrassing would it be if I went round to help tonight as a surprise for him and he had a girl round? Ye-ouch...

Paul's lips twitched upwards and I laughed.

"Yes, that would be a little bad... but don't worry, you'll know if I have a girl around," he winked, "and yeah Suze, that's a great idea. If I read about all the power I could get tempted again..." his eyes flashed for a brief second, but after a seconds struggling, Paul over-came it. He grinned and said he was getting good.


	13. Change of tactics

**A/N: Ok, this is officially MY bit now! Written completely and utterly by Fizii.**

**Yeahhh!**

**So, here's the deal, I need reviews to give me the drive to keep writing. So, um, yeah. Everyone review for me pretty, pretty please? I'm trying to make the story how Loulabel246 would have liked it; which basically means I'm guessing where she would have taken it...**

**But I have absolutely no clear where this is exactly... D:**

**Anyway, I'm doing my best with it so Loulabel if you're reading this kid, I hope I'm doing you proud!**

_**-Fizii**_

Change of tactics

Suze POV

After school Paul took me back to his house and we began looking through all the journals and newspaper clippings to try and find out about hypnosis.

'This is pointless, Paul! I haven't found anything!'

He looked at me over the top of this really old book which I was sure belonged in a museum, not in Paul Slater's den.

'You may not have, Simon, but just because some of us aren't looking in the right places doesn't mean we all are. Here.' He shoved the book under my nose and told me to read, which I did.

'_The reverse of hypnosis comes from within the hopes of the shifter; as such it is the opposite of hypnosis itself but must be sustained over time. Shamans-'_

I looked up, stopping mid-sentence.

'See!' Paul seemed enthusiastic however noticed by my dumb expression that I clearly didn't follow.

Sighing, he translated into English 'You have to look into his eyes and hope or wish that he is no longer hypnotised.'

Well, that was blunt.

'Cool!'

He shook his head, chuckling to himself, 'You really are a piece of work, Simon.'

I was shocked and, I guess, a little offended.

'Hey! I'm not that bad!'

'No,' he conceded. 'But you're not easy by any means.'

Well, I think that's a good thing, so there! Yeah, you heard me!

'Mind reading?' I prompted him, we were after all meant to be having a shifter lesson today.

'Oh… Yeah… Well-'

And that, my friends, began his ramblings for the day.

I got back home (in time for dinner) and immediately afterwards called Zack.

He came instantly but, well, to be honest?

He acted like a zombie.

Seriously.

It was all creepy staring and slurring words and groaning… Yeah, _pretty_ creepy.

Focussing on what Paul had told me to do; I placed my hands on either side of his head and stared into his droopy eyes… Hoping and wishing… Come _on, _Simon! You. Have. To. Get. This!

'Suze?'

Sighing, I collapsed onto my bed… So… Tired…

'Suze?! Babe, are you alright?'

'Yeah… Can you just… Go? It's just that I'm really tired…'

A swirl of blue sparkles and he was gone. As was my remaining energy.

…

'Susie?'

Mmhmph. Go away evil, naïve human.

I am sleeping.

'_Susie_?'

Leave!

And never return! Evilness… Trying to torture me…

'_Susie_!'

And with that, my friends, I gracefully toppled straight out of my bed onto the floor. At my mom's feet.

Gah.

'You,' she told me sternly, 'are going to be late, young lady, if you don't start moving _right now!' _

'Uhhh… Yeah, sure, cool… Moving now.'

'I mean it!'

And then she did The Thing. Yeah. The Thing. The most evil Thing you can ever do to anyone ever.

She took away my covers.

'_No_!' I yelped as the cold penetrated my lovely cosy pyjamas.

I curled into a ball, looking up to see my mom laughing.

'It's seven forty, Susie!'

Seven… Forty?!

'Crap! Mom! Why'd you let me sleep so late?'

'Why did _you _go to bed so late?' She countered, arching an eyebrow.

Urgh. Don't you hate it when mothers do that?

'But I'm not going to have time to-'

And then, like the saviour she is, my mother thrust a cereal bar and a carton of orange juice in my hands.

There _is _a God, ladies and gentlemen.

'Now get ready, Susie! We don't want you to make your boyfriend late!'

'What…?! He's- MOM!' She ran out as I lobbed a pillow at her.

Grrr.

I was just putting the finishing touches to my eyeliner when I heard a car honk outside.

I grabbed my bag and ran out to see Paul's bmw. Sliding in, I turned to him immediately.

'I didn't know you were taking me today.'

Rolling his eyes and smirking he replied, 'Yeah, well, let's be fair here. Would you rather ride with Ackerman?'

'Which one? My younger brother is actually nice, you know…'

Shaking his head, Paul put his foot on the accelerator.

'Tomorrow's your date with Team.' Paul stated carefully, I watched as his whole body tensed up.

'Yeah… I guess it is.'

'Any plan?'

'Any suggestions?'

I saw his eyes darken.

'Paul…' I said warningly.

'Sorry.' He didn't really sound very sorry at all. 'I just think that there must be another way to do this.'

'Mmm? And what would that be, Paul? I have done this before, it works! Trust me!'

'Yeah, whatever.'

He continued glowering as he pulled into the parking lot.

Christ! He's _such _hard work sometimes!'

'Ok, Paul, I'm all ears. If you have another suggestion I'm totally open to it.'

I waited… and waited…

'Ok, at the party today you make Team confess; otherwise we find another way. Okay? I don't want you near a murderer longer than you need to be… Especially not Team.' He ended in a deadly whisper.

'You mean, especially one which is of the male persuasion?' I asked.

I saw the faintest flicker of a smirk dancing on his lips.

'Well… Let's just say that Max doesn't have the best reputation regarding his ex's.'

I snorted at that. 'Yeah, because when people break up they _never _bad mouth each other afterwards.'

'You don't get what you're talking about, Suze. I'm serious.' His voice sounded pained and had dropped to a throaty whisper. 'This weekend or we find another plan. I'm… I don't trust him. Just trust me, ok?'

Whoa… Was it just me or did Paul Slater sound… Well, scared? Like he really thought Max could hurt me?

He was clearly not telling me something, but I decided not to push the topic… Whatever it was, it was clearly serious to get Paul agitated.

And that takes some doing.

'Fine. This weekend and we'll see what stage I'm at. Give me until Saturday, that's when he's taking me to see some movie or another.'

'I'd rather get it settled tonight…'

'I know you would, Paul. But I'm telling you, murderers don't tell out their secrets so easily… It will be a miracle if I manage this by Sunday; it took longer with Michael Meducci.'

'I don't care. I wasn't involved then.'

'Fine.'

'Fine.'

We exited the car, both storming away from each other glaring.

How was I even going to do this?


	14. Manipulation

**A/N: Ok, so it's been a while, but that is probably mainly because the stories on my story alert in the Mediator section haven't been updated... So my awful case of writers block hasn't really shifted. At all.**

**BUUT THIS IS A LONGER CHAPTER, SO FEAR NOT! (although it is really quite late... or early depending on which way you look at it, so I'm not sure if I'm happy with it... Might be edited later...)**

**DISCLAIMED.**

**Live Dance and Hope: Yeah, I hope to pull it all together soon... It'll help when I actually have the faintest idea where I'm going with it... :L PM me if you have any ideas... O.o**

**Guest: Eh, yeah, it's been a... fairly long wait... But it IS longer so... yeah. Happy? :D**

**Alveepurple: Well, I would reaaally like it if you started writing as well! ;D Actually, you may already be, and I just haven't read it... I am now officially going onto your profile to see (when I've finished this...) So I hope you like this...**

**Sorry for the wait everyone!**

_**-Fizii**_

Manipulation-Persuasion in the cruellest sense

'Hey Babe.' An arm went around my waist as I was standing by my locker getting all my books for the day.

'Max! Crap, you scared me…' He chuckled darkly.

'Yeah, well, that's what I'm good at, you know? Getting under people's skin…' His hands slid down my bare arms.

Oh boy, did I know it.

'Hey, what's happening between you and Slater by the way? You looked like you had an argument in the car park.'

'What? Oh… yeah…' I thought back to when my emotions were so raw that I hadn't minded what came out of my mouth… I hadn't cared if what I said hurt.

'Look, Susie-'

'Don't call me that.'

'-sorry, Suze. Look, I don't care what's going on, alright? He lives near you, right? So I don't care if you share rides. You shouldn't be scared of telling me stuff.'

Let's be fair here, who, exactly, is the murderer out of you two? I'm sure _that _will give me a good idea of who I should trust- even if I'm mad as hell with him right now.

'Oh I think I should.' I winked at him. 'You're _far _too dangerous to be trusted, Mr Team.'

'Oh, really?' Smirking, he trapped me in between his arms, pinning me to the lockers.

'Oh, I think so…' Ducking under one of his arms I darted into homeroom with only one thought on my mind.

_Paul would have anticipated me escaping… He would have managed to stop me._

…

'Suze! Team's here!' I heard Dopey yell from somewhere in the house-probably the kitchen, that boy eats like there's no tomorrow.

Sliding into my heels I gave my little ensemble a nod of approval in my full length mirror and dashed downstairs.

'Bye mom!'

'Bye Susie! Be safe!'

'Aren't I always?'

Sliding out of the door I opened the car door.

'Hi, babe, you look gorgeous.' Max smirked, without even looking at me.

'You too.' I felt uneasy; there was something that just wasn't right… He was only human so why did I feel so…Vulnerable?

'Mmm, alright sweetheart let's go.' Whoa, not wasting anytime are we Mr Team?

We pulled up at Kieran's house about ten minutes later; the whole ride had been in silence. Talk about awkward.

The party seemed to be in full swing though, as we entered I saw two kegs and people _everywhere_.

How many people were even invited to this thing?

'Suuuuze!' Kieran staggered over to me and Max with a cup sloshing with beer. 'You made it! It's gonna be mental tonight!'

Max wrapped his arm around me, pulling me away from Kieran.

'Hi, mate.'

'Teaaam! Hell yeah, dude! You've arrived! Someone was lookin' for you and I was like, he said he were comin'!'

Casting an amused look at me he nodded, 'Cool, man, I'll be sure to look them up later. I think some more people have arrived.'

'Oh my GOD! TRUE! Gotta be somewhere! Bayum!'

He ran off in some random direction.

'Wow, he was gone…'

'I know right, well let's get a drink in you, Simon.'

Ten minutes, seven shots and three beers later I was sitting on Max's lap with his hands _all_ over me; the room had started to sway quite violently so I was really quite dizzy from all the alcohol when I heard it.

_Stop, Suze._

'Huh? Did you hear that, baby?' I asked Max whose face was currently in my neck-well practically eating my neck to be honest, but still.

'What?' He whispered against my ear lobe before taking it in between his lips.

'Uh, nothing, don't worry.'

'I say,' He moved down under my jaw, kissing along it. 'that we have another round of shots and then go upstairs… Just you and me…'

Now, in my normal state I would have freaked out at this point, I had only met the guy a few days ago. But I _was _drunk, so it wasn't nearly as shocking an idea as it should have been.

_Suze, get away from him._

I was sure I heard it then. But I made no effort to heed the warnings as Max poured me a shot of tequila.

_Simon, I mean it. _

'No.' I whispered, and downed the shot in one.

Getting up, Max grabbed my hand and pulled me away, giggling I went along with it without caring.

I hadn't felt this good in _so long…_

'Oi, Suze!' I turned to see Luke beckoning me over. 'Join us for double suicidal shots! Come on!'

'Suzeee! Max tried to pull me back towards him and I laughed.

'Go up, I'll meet you there in five, okay?' I kissed his cheek.

'I'll be waiting…' Pausing to wink at me he wondered off into the crowd.

Turning, I grinned at Luke, 'Really think you can top me?'

'Hell yeah!'

…

'I _really _have to go!'

'Nooo, Simon! Come on!'

I stood, staggering slightly and managed to make my way to the bottom of the stairs… Ooh, this was going to be a bit harder than normal…

I had managed two steps when I heard giggling in the kitchen, deciding that it would be a lot easier than attempting the stairs again I made my way along the hall to find Max in a tight embrace with a blonde girl.

Both of their tops were on the floor and her skirt was heading the same way judging from his hands fumbling to find that zip at the back.

'Well, I knew someone was looking for you, but I had no _idea_ you were so close.' I spoke, cold hatred lining every syllable.

The blonde girl tried to break away, staring wide eyed at me. 'Oh my God!'

'You left me waiting, Suze. Nobody keeps me waiting.'

'Well, I can see this is going to be a problem…'

'Might just be, yeah. Depends on what you plan to do about it.' He pulled the blonde back towards him, against his chest.

The thing was, even in my drunken state, I didn't even care about him. He was nothing. I was concerned about the blonde chick he was currently holding oh, so close to his bare chest.

_Simon, get out of there, or I'm coming in. I mean it. Listen to me for once in your life. He's not going to hurt her, but he may well hurt you. Get out, now._

I clutched my head, staring around wildly and then glaring back at Max.

'I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but-'

Just as I was about to leap at him to punch the living daylights out of him an arm looped around my waist, holding me back.

'Stop, Suze.' Paul whispered in my ear. 'Don't.'

'Lemme go!' I thrashed around, his arm constricting tighter around me.

'Sorry about this, she just doesn't think when she's drunk.' Paul called over my shoulder at Max and the blonde. 'I'll get her home if you want?'

'That might be best.' Max spoke with hatred staring at me. 'We'll talk about this either tomorrow or on Monday alright, Suze?'

'Done, alright, time to go, Suze…' Pulling me out of the door and down the corridor I heard someone call my name.

'Oh, and Suze? I'm not sure if I can make tomorrow… I'm sure you'll understand.'

'Oh, like I still want to.' I shouted back.

'Fine!'

'Great!'

'Alright! Come on, Simon! We're leaving now.' Paul growled at me, and his voice was just plain deadly.

We didn't speak for most of the journey home, there was too much friction between us to strike up a conversation like we used to.

'My mom was expecting me and Brad to sleep over…' I muttered.

Glancing at me before turning his eyes back on the road, Paul answered, 'Yeah, well do you really think I'm driving you home? Oh, I bet your mother would _love_ to see you in this state.'

'Not-but where are we-?'

'My place. My parents are away for the weekend in New York and Jack will be asleep so he won't hear us come in. Although I'm sure my parents don't care as much as yours do when you turn up at midnight drunk.'

'You shouldn't be driving…'

Turning, he glared at me. 'Unlike some, Simon, I _wasn't _downing shots all night. I have had two beers and that's been my action for tonight.'

'Oh…'

'God, if you could've controlled yourself…' He stopped the car and opened my door for me.

Clicking my seatbelt I tried to stand and managed to stagger three paces to my left.

'Look at you! You can't even stand!'

'Yeah? Well at least I had fun! More that I can apparently say for you!'

'I was bloody looking _after _you for most of the night! Not that you ever _actually listened!_'

'I don't need LOOKING AFTER!'

'Really?' He scoffed. 'I find that hard to believe, judging from the state of you right now. I told you THIS MORNING, Team is bad news! Do you even bloody believe me NOW?'

'No, do you know what_ I _think? I think you're irritated that Team is probably having a one-night stand with the blonde right now and that _you _couldn't get any action for the night. _That's _what I think! You're always jealous of other people _aren't you, Slater?'_

'Really, Simon?' His voice lowered to a deadly whisper. 'Do you really believe that? Because if you think I'm jealous of _Team_, then you really don't understand _me_ or _Seattle_ very well at all.'

We'd got closer, glaring at each other in hatred, loathing, determination and, oh, I don't know.

I tried to look up, directly into his eyes, but I staggered back from the dizziness hitting the car.

Marching up to me he grabbed my shoulders to steady me and I felt a jolt of electricity zap through me.

'Damn…' He whispered. 'Even now?'

We met half-way.

Pulling me closer, his arms wrapped around me tightly as my hands went to either side of his face, trying to get closer. Too bad he couldn't exactly get any closer.

His lips against mine were vicious, taking over with an almost overwhelming hatred.

He pulled me over to the front door, never taking his lips from mine and fumbled with his key trying to locate the lock.

I kissed his neck, wrapping my arms and legs around him, until I heard the lock _click_.

Holding me with one arm, he made it inside and somehow successfully locked the door before making his way upstairs to what I guessed was his room although I couldn't see without any of the lights on.

'You make me so mad sometimes, Simon.' He growled against my lips.

'I know.' I gasped back, trying, desperately, to find some oxygen.

'I don't think you realise the effect you have on me…' His lips left mine to move all over my neck.

_Oh, God._

I pulled his shirt off, his brown skin was everywhere…

'Do you know how close I came to killing that idiot, Team, tonight?' He asked between kisses. '_God, _when he said he wanted you to go upstairs with him…'

'You were listening?' I panted as his lips went further down into my cleavage.

'No, his mind was practically screaming his intentions to the world…' Straightening up, he kissed my forehead, looking down at me with a mixture of anger and worry. 'If you'd gone… Oh, I'm going to thank Luke so much tomorrow.'

I was going to reply, but his lips met mine again.

* * *

**Review? For me?**


	15. We make things interesting in Seattle

**A/N: Ok, so yeah, it's been far longer than it should have been... But I'm currently revising for some major exams that I really can't affrord to mess up. D: The exams finish in a few weeks but until then my life will, well, suck, for lack of a better term.**

**But just for the record, I haven't forgotten you.**

**DISCLAIMED**

**Alveepurple: I know, it's been forever again! :( And I hate it when people do this to me when I'm desperate for "the next installment" as it were, but my life is a bit chaotic at the moment (understatement of the century) and I hope you forgive me!**

**Nikkiilovesjessee: Thanks! Well, it's only just started to be my work and, in all fairness, the updates have been a tad irregular. I can't even promise that they'll get better, but I'll try my best.**

**Please keep reviewing, it really does motivate me more than you know.**

_**-Fizii**_

How we make things interesting in Seattle

**Suze POV**

I'm not going to lie; the first thing I thought the next morning was 'Holy crap… My head kills.' The second thought however was more along the lines of why-the-hell-am-I-in-bed-with-a-hot-topless-guy.

I tried to move, but this was made harder by the fact that teen-hotness had his arm wrapped tightly around me.

'Shit, Suze, don't move!'

Oh. Paul.

'_Crap_!'

Casting a weary eye over at me he chuckled, 'Yeah… Seems like a pretty accurate summary of the night to me.' Pulling himself up he leant against the headboard. 'How's your head?'

'Like a bitch.' I replied bitterly.

'Well-'

'_Don't _tell me I deserve it, I already know that.'

'Hmm… How much do you remember?'

'Uhh…' I flopped against the pillows. 'I remember arriving, the shots, Team eating my neck, more shots and then walking in on Team with some blonde bimbo… Did I miss anything?'

'Well plus me pulling you out of there and bringing you back here only to have you pass out on my bed…'

'I passed out!'

'Yeah…' He smirked and got up moving into what I guessed was his en-suite, he came back a minute later, pausing to pick up a bottle of water from his desk he passed me both the water and the box of aspirin.

'Thanks… What's the time?'

'About nine…' He reported, squinting at his phone, 'Oh damn, hang on…'

He put his phone up to his ear and I could hear the faint sounds of someone talking on the other end of the line.

'Yeah… No, don't worry about it; she's here with me… No… Oh, come on! You know me better than-well, I guess… Alright, yeah, thanks, man. Later.'

Pressing the end call button he looked at me, 'Your brother and Team are freaking out slightly by the sounds of it, but Kieran has them calm… Well calmer anyway. He's getting Rose to cover for you, might piss Team off slightly but oh well.'

'Oh my God! Why did I drink that much?' I groaned and rolled over to press my face into the pillow.

'Look, babe, I seriously love seeing you rolling around in my bed, but that will have to continue after breakfast… I'm starved and you should probably eat something too.'

I rolled over with every intention of glaring at him, but ended up clutching my head instead as the world went out of focus again.

'Oww…'

'God, what would you do without me, Simon?'

'Probably wake up this morning next to Max with fewer clothes on than I currently have on.'

'Well if you were aiming to keep me around you forever, Simon, you have definitely achieved your goal. Now let's get breakfast.' With that he picked me up and started walking out of his room.

'Let me go!' I laughed, struggling in his arms.

'Let me think about that for a moment… Hmm…' He leant down so his face was about an inch away from my ear. 'How about a no?' He whispered.

I frowned at him, trying to ignore the shivers currently going down my spine.

He just laughed at me and carried me downstairs to the kitchen.

'Bacon and Pancakes alright with you?'

'Yeah, sure…' I slumped onto the table and groaned

Why, oh why, did I have to drink that much?

'Here.' Paul put a cup of tea down in front of me and then returned to the stove where the bacon was already frying.

'How are you ok? You should be at least as bad as me! If not worse, how has karma missed this?!'

'Because I was looking after you the whole time, Simon.' He placed a plate of bacon, pancakes and syrup in front of me. 'Drink your tea and eat this, you'll feel better, it's the best cure I've ever found.'

We were half-way through eating when the phone rang.

'Be right back.'

I nodded and continued eating until I heard a gasp, moving into the hall I turned to see Paul holding onto the phone white in the face and eyes wide.

'Paul?' I whispered tentatively.

His eyes met mine.

'I'm sorry, I left early, I didn't see anything… Yes, exactly. I just… Well, we were never-but, you know… Sure, if I can be any help… Goodbye.'

The phone fell from his hands.

'Paul?'

He leant against the wall and fell down to the floor staring blankly in front of him.

'What's happened? What is it?'

'Suze…'

'Yes?'

I was scared now, I'm not going to lie, it was frightening seeing a guy who was usually so in control like, well, this.

'They-they found him by the river this morning. He was lying there in the mud, just… lying there.'

My blood froze, I couldn't move, everything inside of me was screaming, desperate to know which "him" Paul was referring to.

Eventually my voice came out as little more than a whisper, 'Who?'

Paul's eyes turned on me, dark and foreboding.

'Maxwell Team, Suze. Someone held his head under the water in the river after the party. He's dead, Suze. Maxwell Team is dead.'


	16. The rain will continue to fall

**A/N: Ok, it's short, but I'm about to post a one-shot as well that I wrote a while back but forgot to publish... Well, one shot unless people are desperate for me to update it. I'm sorry about the length, but I may try to update more frequently with shorter chapters :/ idk, I'll see how it goes, but I have a load on so... Yeah.**

**DISCLAIMED**

**NikkiLovesJesse: Well, I'd love that! :D And thanks for being so patient! :L**

**Guest: Okay then... O.o PLEASE DON'T EAT ME! D: I UPDATED, SEE? SEE!? I WAS GOOD! PLEEAASEE! SPARE ME! **

The rain will continue to fall…

SPOV

Well, shit.

I remember the day as if it were yesterday, dashing over with Paul, watching them as they pulled the body into the ambulance…

And now I'm here in the rain watching his friends and family cry at his funeral.

Standing under the black umbrella Paul was holding for us to stand under I stared blindly as proceedings went on and on… His mother crying, his younger brother and sister standing there not knowing what to do.

Why was it always raining?

I remember when Jesse used to sit on my window seat back in California, seems like so long ago now, but he used to just sit there and watch the rain.

I had dreamt of that guy, I had kissed him… I had also kissed the one who was currently lying in the coffin, still, cold and breathless.

If I shut my eyes I could still feel his lips on mine, and then they turn cold and lifeless.

After my dad I never had nightmares about death, I kinda assumed that losing a parent was as bad as it was going to get… But this, it was like he was haunting me.

I woke up screaming, waiting for him to show up in my room with a ghostly aura in my room. Glowing but still with that manic glint in his eyes like you were never sure of what he would do next.

People started breaking up around me, walking away. Looking up I walked out from the cover of the umbrella over to Rose.

'How're you doing?' This was, after all, the second guy who died that she's dated.

Staring at the coffin with one last, hard look she turned to me, 'Everybody expects me to feel bad, to think it's my fault… I guess it looks bad, doesn't it? I mean, with… With Zack,' her voice trembled slightly, 'With Zack it was different. But with Max, I don't feel anything; I'm not happy, not sad, nothing.' Staring around again she whispered, 'It's as if I didn't know him at all, as if I had never met him.'

Giving me a smile with no humour it, she nodded towards the coffin 'What about you?'

'It's weird, I… It's like he's haunting me Rose, like he won't let me forget. I barely knew him, but it's still like he's constantly looking over my shoulder.'

Nodding with sympathetic eyes Rose glanced over towards the Teams, 'I'd better go and give my further condolences to the family. I got along better with them than with him, really.'

She disappeared off into the sobbing crowd.

'That's number four.' A deep voice whispered behind me.

'I know, Paul, I know.'

'You think it was one of the first three?'

'I don't know, I know whatever the police say won't be right, but that's it.'

'Who else would want him dead, Paul? Who? Because I've got to solve this, it's hanging over me… I have to solve this or I have to leave; it's killing me.'

'Don't joke about things like that.' His forehead creased slightly in a frown.

'I'm not,' I hissed. 'It's like he's hanging over me. I can't cope for much longer, it's driving me insane. Death _never _affects me this way, Paul. I was distraught when my father died, but this… _This _is different.'

'Then we find out who killed him and make sure they are brought to justice.'

'What if they're dead?' I stared into those icy blue eyes.

'Then we bring them to justice ourselves.'

'Whatever it takes?'

He smirked with a cold conviction, 'Yes, Suze, whatever it takes.'


End file.
